RUGBY ANALYST:AT A little after 10pm on the November 18th, 2009, Thierry Henry's hand shook the FAI cradle. Much has been made of the infamous goal but very little was made of the man who actually scored it. William Gallas' head ultimately sunk Ireland's World Cup dreams and his cousin could do something similar tomorrow.
Their country of birth is almost their only common ground. Gallas a defender, at 5ft 9ins and 11 stone is dwarfed by Mathieu Bastareaud. Eleven years his junior and at over 17 stone the outside centre can cause serious problems. Thankfully he was unavailable in Croke Park last year. Put it this way, although four inches shorter than Stephen Ferris he is the same weight!
For all the Heineken Cup cross-fertilisation over the years, Ireland’s centre pairing has very little experience of the Stade Francais behemoth. So how will they combat him? The theory sounds simple, fast feet from the Irish centres will beat the big man. Space created on the inside will allow Ronan O’Gara to put the ball in to the correct zone for Brian O’Driscoll to attack. That space can be just behind the on-rushing French backline or with an infinitely more skilled play just outside their number 13. Either way, for O’Driscoll to get the upper hand he will need the 12 men inside him creating space.
The Irish set-piece remains the most potent source of five- pointers. This is why I suggested Ireland had kept several plays in the locker last weekend. Coach Declan Kidney didn’t want to declare a full deck against Italy, especially off lineouts. With Bastareaud in mind the lineout in particular will allow Ireland’s outside backs in to space. As the ball leaves the top of the lineout the famed French blitz defence will have to contend with 20 metres between backlines.
The location of the French blindside winger and fullback may change throughout the game due to field position but O’Gara must exploit them off lineouts. I’ll never forget the eight seconds of magic that transferred the ball from Jerry Flannery’s touch-line throw to O’Driscoll’s touchdown against the French in Croke Park last year.
When looking forward to the lineout tomorrow one has also to look back to last Saturday. Italy were atrocious having 19 throws but winning just 12 (63 per cent win rate). This afforded Ireland their seven won (87.5 per cent win rate) plus the notional seven Italy lost, totalling 14 lineouts. Why Italy gained 19 lineouts to Ireland’s eight remains a worry but Ireland’s use of the platform must improve tomorrow.
Last year Ireland had nine lineouts against France, winning eight, scoring two tries. They will need to replicate this tomorrow. Unfortunately this tactic, scoring off lineouts is very high on precision. Flannery’s darts continue to be triple top but, for Ireland to repeat the O’Driscoll try, perfection is required allied to French errors. We can’t depend on the perfect lineout platform to win the game.
The French tend not to rely on such levels of precision erring on the broken-field plays. Throughout the Italian match and for much of last season’s Six Nations, Ireland lagged behind on multi-phase ball. In other words, if Ireland fail to unlock the French defence from first or second phase it is unlikely they will beyond that. For long periods of the second half against Italy, Ireland insisted on sending individual ball-carriers into the triple tackle. The game was never in doubt and it mattered little but the French will be a tad more difficult to breakdown.
Tommy Bowe and Keith Earls can become very helpful in this regard. They are young, strong and full of running. It was clear from last weekend Bowe was chomping at the bit to get on the ball, but for Tomás O’Leary’s box kicks he would have gone without.
Ireland will need him and Earls trailing off our forwards and O’Gara, looking to check French defenders, creating the space for O’Driscoll out wide. I remember Paul O’Connell’s circle pass on the way to Jamie Heaslip’s try last year but it was David Wallace’s circle pass in midfield to blindside winger Bowe that started the move. Bowe continued it by powering through five defenders. This handling ambition is required from our forwards.
Worryingly France have a settled side facing Ireland. So are there weaknesses? Back to our friend Bastareaud and his pal, Yannick Jauzion, in the French midfield. Given the right platform, Gordon D’Arcy and O’Driscoll can exploit them both. With over 60 caps Jauzion would appear the perfect foil to Bastareaud. Although the same age as O’Driscoll he is very much on the wane, particularly the inside shoulder. Although dangerous, Bastareaud is predictable. Our centres are far too slippery for their blitz defence!
Imanol Harinordoquy is their main target in the lineout but William Servat can be errant. There is no doubt Harinordoquy, who has a 76 per cent win rate in the Six Nations (as does O’Driscoll) is a phenomenal athlete and is the fulcrum for their big plays, popping up all over the lineout in attack and defence. He makes big tackles to stump the opposition attack. Very similar to Heaslip, he can carry in to contact and add value to the ball. All the French run off him.
But his very athletic openside Fulgence Ouedraogo covers the ground but without real effect. Our three have much greater balance. French left-wing Alexis Palisson I trust will be targeted by Bowe on as many one-versus-ones as possible and will crack. Ideally Bastareaud and Palisson should be forced into tough defensive decisions at speed that will allow O’Driscoll, Bowe and Rob Kearney to exploit.
Kidney’s side now has the ability to vary their tactics mid-game. They can play field position through the boot when required but, based on last Saturday, they need to move away from the one-up carrier in the final third. Precision of the lineout allied with real pace to get outside the swinging gate will afford Kearney and co space to run. I’m very excited, but Harinordoquy and Bastareaud must be stopped.
