PERHAPS THE most deliberate example of how times have changed in the Irish camp was evident from the sortie sent out to speak to the media before departure to Rome yesterday.
That a South African forwards guru (Gert Smal) and Australian defence expert (Les Kiss) were fielding questions in Killiney Castle, without any sign of guidance from head coach or manager Paul McNaughton, is a sure sign of the trust now placed in all facets of the group. Total democracy is not possible in team sport but we do know dictatorships die hard.
No obvious chinks are visible in Ireland’s armour judging from last Saturday’s victory over France and while flaws may develop over the coming weeks, it seemed like straw-clutching to read former Italian prop Massimo Cuttitta identify Marcus Horan’s scrummaging against Martin Castrogiovanni as an area to exploit.
Last month one of our own frontrow greats Paul Wallace, unprompted, picked out the Shannon prop as a potential Lions tourist based on his form. That Horan’s usual open-field contribution was lessened against France seemed to indicate increased industry in the fork-lifting stakes.
“It is early days,” said Smal. “We are working on a lot of things in the scrums at the moment, just fine technical things.”
A typical South African, he welcomes the forward collisions. “Well, I think we know what to expect. It is a very experienced pack, look at the amount of caps the frontrow has and also the locks (despite the loss of Marco Bortolami). We have no illusions about what the challenge is going to be. It is going to be a nice challenge for the pack.”
The other concern highlighted – and this is nit-picking – was the poor kicking return from Ireland in this experimental season of ping-pong rugby. This can be explained by the ankle injury Rob Kearney sustained when avoiding backs coach Alan Gaffney in training last week, but criticising the input of the former Clongowes schoolboy at this juncture seems ridiculous.
“Yeah, that is something we have looked at,” Kiss admitted. “When you look at the French, they are probably the best exponents of that in world rugby along with New Zealand. They certainly challenged us and it is an area we aim to improve on.”
The main problem for Ireland is how they go about removing the obstructions Italy always present at home. They will be irritating when seeking to create a war of attrition. And yet, only two penalties conceded against the French, be it due to referee Nigel Owens’ interpretation or supreme discipline, was an encouraging start.
Kiss was unperturbed about Italian coach Nick Mallet selecting winger Mirco Bergamasco at inside centre to target a supposed soft centre of the Irish defensive alignment. “I wouldn’t say surprised. I thought there would be changes. He is obviously a dynamic runner and they probably wanted to put a little more zest into that midfield.”
A former Springbok, Smal was forced into international exile from 1982-92, joining Rovigo for six of those years as a player-coach. “Well, I played there so I know they get really emotional. I think they will definitely come in the first couple of minutes, quite hard. But we will be ready.”
