RUGBY:DEPENDING ON which side of the world you were on Saturday, it either started in daylight and ended in darkness, or vice versa. Or something like that.
This was a great morning, day or night, and quite probably all three, to be Irish. We love a party, but as excuses for one go, heck, an epic 15-6 win over Australia, the Tri-Nations champions for heaven’s sakes, was right up there.
There’s something a little poignant, and even sad, about the way we’ve become more of a nation of ex-pats and grasp major sporting occasions such as these to find an outlet for our nationalistic pride.
But it makes nights such as these all the more special. This was more than a little patch of New Zealand green becoming Irish for the night. Auckland was a city invaded.
It appears half of the Irish diaspora are in the Antipodes, and as most of them are at least working can thus afford to reconnect with the old sod. It helps mind, that New Zealanders don’t exactly adore their neighbours, least of all when it comes to rugby and World Cups.
The sense of obligation to the fans was expressed by Gordon D’Arcy, who likened it to a home match. “Look how far we are from Ireland and (how many) people are here. People living in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong and places like that, that are making the effort to come here. We get support no matter where we go in Europe or down in the Southern Hemisphere and it’s great to be able to repay that intensity the fans gave us, and we gave it back to them today.”
As ever abroad (and Irish fans are not unique), they painted their faces and adorned themselves in riotous shades of green, and some gold and white from head to toe.
They also fuelled their engines, as it were, well in advance and sang their hearts out. Even Ireland’s Call had the hairs standing and in a barometer of what unfolded on the pitch, Australians were lustily out-sung and chanted.
Though not the finest of Irish ditties, on nights like these Ole, Ole, Ole serves as a rallying call, but by midway through the second half, with Ireland in the ascendancy and the 25,000-plus in green becoming giddy with the real sense they were witnessing a little piece of history, The Fields of Athenry was echoing around the refurbished, 60,000-capacity World Cup final venue.
As many veterans of the press box and elsewhere confided, Eden Park, the ultimate All Blacks citadel, has never seen or heard or witnessed anything quite like it.
On New Zealand television news programmes yesterday, the lead item was of Irish fans celebrating on both sides of the globe, and added it was “a trouble-free night” in Auckland. It also seemed to go down very well hereabouts.
In the process Brian O’Driscoll et al have shaken the 2011 World Cup to its core. All pre-conceived notions have been shredded. As the odyssey continues to take in the length and breadth of New Zealand, the squad flew to Taupo yesterday for four nights.
Paul O’Connell’s tight hamstring and Gordon D’Arcy, a grade one hamstring strain, were due to have scans today but neither appeared to be causing concern,
Now, victories over Russia and Italy over the next two Sundays in Rotorua and Dunedin would seal first place in Group C and a possible quarter-final against Wales in windy Wellington after the latter’s win over Samoa yesterday.
It also opens up the distinct possibility of the Europeans being corralled into one half of the draw and the Tri-Nations heavyweights in the other – perhaps with Argentina.
This was also a vintage Irish rugby performance by, quite probably, Ireland’s greatest generation of players. For how else do you rate this win, the first by an Irish team in the Southern Hemisphere since twice beating Australia, then the Bledisloe Cup winners, in 1979. It’s certainly the best World Cup win ever and so it’s right up there, even if they do drive you nuts by seemingly having to be blindfolded, handcuffed, put up against the wall and with the firing squad locked and loaded before they decide to come out and play as they can.
But then again, why should we expect a vintage crop of players – many with a couple of Heineken Cups and Grand Slams to their names – to be at their best in non-competitive warm-up matches. At the outset of August we said this team (and all Irish supporters for that matter) would happily exchange four warm-up defeats for four Pool wins. Now, that is a very realistic possibility.
They sensed something special was brewing in the camp all week.
“Yeah, it’s something hard to always read and predict,” admitted defensive coach Les Kiss, “but there was certainly something about the guys taking control. We are the coaches but ultimately the players define what they are about, and this was one of those weeks. And I think that was borne of the fact that they knew they weren’t too far away in a couple of things, I know we haven’t been as good as we would have liked to have been but underneath it all, there was something sitting there nicely and bubbling away and we just had to bring it out of ourselves.”
Heroes abounded, the near demonic O’Connell and O’Driscoll – they say a bird never flew on one wing but he gave it everything with, it seemed, one arm – led the way.
You also suspected the silver fox himself, Kidney, would have it all pitched right, and according to Kiss, masterfully managed the mood all week.
It helps too when the Brains Trust has people like Kiss and Gert Smal, amongst the very best defensive and forwards coaches in the global game, and who had been masterminding their defensive and pack plans for months, nay years.
This win was founded first and foremost on the Irish scrum, where Cian Healy especially did a number on Ben Alexander, and their collective aggression and accuracy at the breakdown, and in the tackle area. They ran hard and straight, and tackled hard, none more so than Stephen Ferris and Seán O’Brien, and Kiss would have been thrilled at keeping the potent Wallabies tryless and at the way they pushed hard on to the playmaker Will Genia, rarely drifting off him or allowing him space.
Vintage Irish performances also draw heavily on emotion, albeit mixed with intelligence. Controlled fury, as it were. All week the players had spoken of their obligation to reward their supporters and deliver a performance more befitting their ability.
As Kidney has long since noted, we can be our own harshest critics as a nation, and the harsh analysis often starts from within. But the sense of all-for-one, one-for-all had been established earlier in the week by experienced players outside the 22 match-day squad – Shane Jennings and Geordan Murphy.
The emotional intensity was pitched a little further by Jerry Flannery, whose World Cup had been cruelly cut short by another calf tear the previous Tuesday, handing out the jerseys at Friday’s captain’s meeting. There weren’t many words said then, but there followed some emotive words from O’Driscoll and O’Connell, who spoke of there being no separate provincial entities. This would be Team Ireland at Eden Park. This was Team Ireland at Eden Park.
Management seek to scupper O’Gara’s retirement plan
THE IRELAND management will seek to persuade Ronan O'Gara to shelve any retirement plans after the outhalf suggested the World Cup will be his Test swansong, writes Carl O'Malley.
An emotional O’Gara indicated in the aftermath of Saturday’s 15-6 victory over Australia his 11-year international career was coming to a close.
“It’s massive, this is it for us. I’m done with Ireland in a few weeks,” he told RTÉ. “I’ve had a great time in this jersey but I want this to be the biggest time. It’s a great team, a great bunch of lads and it means a lot to us.”
Team manager Paul McNaughton revealed the management were unaware of his plans and an effort would be made to convince O’Gara, who kicked two crucial penalties at Eden Park, to continue playing for Ireland.
“Ronan hasn’t talked formally to us about it. There’s no doubt he still has something to offer the team after the World Cup,” said McNaughton.
“He’s contracted for the next couple of years. Undoubtedly (coach) Declan Kidney and the management will be encouraging him to stay on.
“He’s a very, very important part of the set-up here.”
O’Gara has kicked 1,039 points for Ireland during his 113-cap career.
