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2015 Six Nations Championship - Round 3 analysis

Joe Schmidt and Ireland. (AFP PHOTO / PAUL FAITH)
Roar Guru
5th March, 2015
2

After another week of Six Nations action, I’m back to analyse each of the matches in detail.

Scotland versus Italy
The first game of the weekend saw Scotland host Italy in Murrayfield in what is usually the annual wooden spoon decider.

Scotland started the game off ambitiously, running the ball out of their own 22, but it turned out to be one of the few bright sparks in what was a fairly turgid affair.

The hosts scored an early intercept try through Mark Bennett. Italy responded with a try of their own through an excellently-constructed maul, recognising that Scotland had taken their foot off the pedal after Bennett’s try.

Despite giving Italy opportunities to grow into the game, Scotland were slowly pulling away on the scoreboard over the course of the first half, until Kelly Haimona’s failed shot at goal resulted in an opportunistic try for Giovanbattista Venditti in the 37th minute, and the game took on a different complexion.

The second half was, for the most part, a dour affair, with several mistakes from both teams. The comedy of errors from both sides around the 50 minute mark was typical of the low standards that are usually on display in this fixture every year.

Haimona did his team a favour by getting injured early in the second half. A 50 per cent success rate from the kicking tee was one of the biggest disappointments in a performance characterised by awful tactical kicking, absenteeism, as well as a penalty kick down the line not finding touch.

The number of times that Luke McLean had to step in at first receiver because Haimona wasn’t back in position was remarkable. There was a noticeable improvement in Italy’s tactical awareness when Tommaso Allan came off the bench.

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They realised that the way back into the game was through mauling, as attacking Scotland in any other area was ineffective.

Scotland were presented with several opportunities to put Italy to the sword, but they could not find the necessary levels of accuracy.

Italy capitalised on their opponent’s lack of a clinical edge in the final 10 minutes, heaping pressure on Scotland, who had several chances to clear their lines. A series of impressive mauls earned the Italians a win in the final moments of the game through a penalty try, leaving Scotland with the sinking feeling that their fortunes may not have changed just yet.

Without Richie Gray on the pitch, Scotland struggled for go-forward ball up front, as well as well as a pair of soft hands in the forwards, not to mention his ability in the lineout, which for the first time in the Championship, did not function in his absence.

Jonny Gray tried his best to fill his older brother’s shoes, but he is a different type of player, more of a work horse and a hard tackler in close to the ruck.

There was a significant difference in the performance levels of the teams’ respective back rows.

Rob Harley and Johnnie Beattie put in lethargic, passenger-like performances, whereas Italy were impressive in this area. Alessandro Zanni was a major loss for Italy, although Francesco Minto replaced him ably at 6, putting in a classic, destructive blindside flanker’s performance, although he did concede several penalties in the process.

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Sergio Parisse returned to something like his best form, having one of these games where he seems to cover almost every position.

His burst down the left touch line in the 22nd minute was outstanding, and his pass back inside to Leonardo Ghiraldini was an outstanding piece of skill, executed with such deftness that no one (including his own teammates) could anticipate what was coming. It was an inspirational moment, and capped off another quality performance for a player who, on so many occasions, has dragged his team to another level.

Although credit must be given to Italy for coming back and salvaging an unlikely win, there was more than a hint of overconfidence in Scotland’s performance in this game.

They were direct in their attacking play early on, with Peter Horne taking the ball to the line effectively in Finn Russell’s absence.

However, as the game progressed, their back play became quite lateral, and it appeared as if they were expecting holes to appear in the Italian defence without having to work for them. They fell into the trap of not giving the visitors enough respect, and have paid a heavy price.

Once again, Scotland’s accuracy levels when they got in behind the opposition defence were poor, and they only managed four clean line breaks against an Italian defence that is the most porous in the Championship.

Worryingly though for Vern Cotter, their solitary try came from a clever intercept from Mark Bennett, not an opportunity that they had generated over several phases.

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This performance and result represents a step backwards for Scotland in terms of progress. They were not heroic in defeat, as they have been in their last two games, they just didn’t play well enough.

They have reverted back to the habit of shooting themselves in the foot towards the end of games, and a better team than Italy would have made a complete mockery of them. They will need to up their game considerably against an English team who will be looking to atone for their own mistakes. Otherwise, a landslide defeat is on the cards for Cotter’s team.

France versus Wales
The second game of the weekend saw Wales travel to Paris to face France, with both teams badly needing a win.

France dominated possession and territory in the first quarter, looking threatening with ball in hand. Both teams engaged in a kicking contest from the off, but there was purpose when Wales put boot to ball, whereas France were aimless in this facet of the game.

Wales were able to soak up the pressure that France put on them and responded with a period of pressure of their own, although crucially, they came away with points after doing so.

Both teams exchanged penalties over the course of the first half, and there was only three points in the difference going into half-time. For brief moments, France looked like slicing through the Welsh defence, but they were hindered by their own errors, with several instances of inaccurate passing and obstruction.

France completely lost direction after Morgan Parra left the field in the 52nd minute. He didn’t spark France into life the way he was expected to, but he was definitely a step up from his replacement, Sébastien Tillous-Borde, who never managed to get any sort of control over the game.

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Wales persisted with Warrenball in the second half, which was working out well for them, whereas France disintegrated tactically. Jamie Roberts, Jonathan Davies, and George North repeatedly punched holes in the French defence, and eventually France conceded a try following excellent interplay between Dan Lydiate and Dan Biggar.

After this point, France never looked like taking back control of the game, although they did manage a try in the second half through Brice Dulin, who ran an excellent line when France had momentum. For the most part, though, Wales made their tackles, patiently waiting for France to make errors, and the game ended with a fully-deserved 20-13 victory for Warren Gatland’s team.

Thierry Dusautoir, much like he did against Ireland, terrorised the breakdown, killing Wales’ momentum when it looked like they had France in trouble. However, the Toulouse stalwart can only carry his team so far.

Bernard Le Roux and Damien Chouly got through a lot of work, but their halves were incapable of making use of any quality possession.

Wales’ back rowers may not have gotten through the same amount of work as their French counterparts, but they made big plays at crucial moments. Lydiate’s pass for Biggar’s try was sublime, while Taulupe Faletau was outstanding, making 21 metres over nine carries, as well as putting in 15 tackles, missing none.

Sam Warburton, much like he did against Scotland, put in bruising tackles when his team were on the back foot, and after a few tough seasons, he is back to his best form.

In the halves, Parra’s injury is a huge blow for France. It now puts then in the unenviable position of having to choose between Rory Kockott, who was awful in the first two games of the tournament, or Tillous-Borde, a player who looks great when he has a pack of world-class internationals in front of him at Toulon, but was mediocre when he came off the bench against Wales.

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Camille Lopez had an awful game, and has not performed anywhere near the levels that were expected of him before the tournament began.

His goal-kicking woes were painful to watch, and several of his decisions during the game wasted any meaningful forward momentum that France generated. His short kicks off restarts were ineffective, with most of them being easily collected by Wales, partly due to poor kick-chase from his teammates.

Bringing monster tight five forwards off the bench isn’t much use when your flyhalf is just going to put poorly-executed chip kicks over the top of the opposition defence. It is a point that has been made several times before, but with the power that they have up front, if France had a 10 who could put any semblance of shape or direction on his team, they would win the Six Nations almost every year.

In contrast, Wales’ halves were excellent, and have been impressive in the Championship thus far. Rhys Webb has been a revelation at nine, and his quick passing and darts around the ruck perfectly complement Biggar’s booming kicks and clever game management. As a result of their good performances, Wales’ back line is back in full swing, destroying opposition defences.

There were little or no positives to take from the game from a French point of view. The hosts conceded 14 points in a second half where they dominated possession and territory, demonstrating just how clueless they are tactically.

The Stade de France has lost its reputation as a fortress. Wales absorbed most of what France threw at them with relative ease, and at no stage did they look like cracking under the pressure of playing in what used to be one of the most feared venues in international rugby.

Wales, on the other hand, can look forward to the next round of the tournament. Several of their most important players, such as Alun Wyn Jones, Warburton, Faletau, Webb, Biggar, Roberts, North, and Leigh Halfpenny, are in excellent form.

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Gatland’s team are being rewarded for the faith they have in his game plan, and are slowly building confidence and momentum as this tournament progresses.

Luke Charteris’ selection in the second row paid off, as it shored up their lineout problems, as well as the player putting in a high number of tackles. Wales are growing back into the tournament, just like they did two years ago when they eventually went on to win the title after a shaky start.

Ireland versus England
The final game of the weekend saw Ireland host England in what was billed as a Championship decider. Ireland began the game in a similar fashion to how they started off against France. They pressured the opposition through quality tactical kicking and kick-chasing, and slowly built a lead through penalty kicks.

However, by the end of the first quarter, it was apparent that Ireland were varying their tactics slightly, going for quick-ball moves off lineouts rather than mauling, keeping the ball in hand a little more than in previous games in order to prevent the English defence from setting themselves for Ireland’s kicking game.

It wasn’t until the start of the second quarter that England got meaningful possession in deep in Ireland’s half. England built good pressure through lineout mauling, forcing Ireland to concede penalties. However, it came to nothing as Devin Toner stole an English lineout a few metres out from his own try line in the 23rd minute, and Ireland managed to clear their lines.

An excellent steal by Rory Best at the breakdown in the 25th minute provided Sean O’Brien the chance to barrel through George Ford, who had already been targeted a few times by Irish ball-carriers. Unfortunately, though, the flanker suffered a head-knock during this passage of play, and had to be substituted.

Further pressure by Ireland on England’s 10-12-13 axis, as well as the breakdown, allowed Johnny Sexton to build up a lead as the half wore on, but it was not all going Ireland’s way, with Ford still managing to manufacture a line break, although the Irish defence scrambled well and recovered.

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Throughout the first half, it was clear that England were trying to get the ball out to the wings, where they were causing Ireland trouble (especially through the impressive Jack Nowell), but they were not getting much of a return, as Ireland’s impressive defensive structure and line speed kept them at bay. The half finished 9-3 to Ireland, who were clearly in the ascendancy.

The start of the second half saw some loose play from both sides, beginning with good Irish pressure almost forcing Alex Goode to carry the ball over his own try-line. However, he countered brilliantly and cleared the ball.

This was followed by a drop goal attempt from Rob Kearney which went wide and allowed Anthony Watson a chance to run the ball back. The elusive winger cut the Irish defence open, only to knock the ball on, giving both sides a chance to catch their breath.

Under Joe Schmidt, Ireland have developed a habit of scoring the majority of their points in the third quarter, and this game was no different. They scored ten points in the space of six minutes, giving themselves a comfortable 19-3 lead.

However, unlike last year in Twickenham, their intensity and concentration levels didn’t fall away completely, and they managed to see out the game, winning 19-9.

Ireland put themselves under unnecessary pressure for long periods in that second half through some loose kicking and poor kick-chasing, almost conceding two tries in the final ten minutes, but as the final quarter progressed, it was clear that England were desperately trying to play catch-up.

Even when England did manage to put meaningful phases together in that final quarter, everything they did was rushed, and as a result, poorly-executed, which is often the case when a team is chasing the game.

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The questions hanging over Ireland’s scrum in the build-up to the game were answered, with the Irish front row more than holding its own against a supposedly-superior unit.

Mike Ross again vindicated Schmidt’s faith in him by excelling in this area. One can only imagine Joe Marler’s frustration, given how he dominated Ross when the two clashed in the pool stages of the Champions Cup. Jack McGrath and Best put in immense performances around the pitch, making big tackles, as well as an important turnover by Best early in the game when Ireland were under pressure.

Despite the good performances of Dave Attwood and George Kruis thus far in the tournament, they were outplayed by Toner and Paul O’Connell. England badly missed the influence of Joe Launchbury and Courtney Lawes. Toner didn’t make a lot of tackles, but his contribution at ruck time cannot be understated. As usual, his lineout play was excellent, his steal in the first half being a major turning point in the game, relieving the huge pressure that his team were under.

O’Connell was immense, leading the charge in terms of hassling England’s breakdown throughout the game. His charge down of Richard Wigglesworth’s box-kick and ensuing chase in the second half epitomised the passion and effort that he brings to any team that he plays for. He seemingly defies the effects of ageing with each passing game, managing to be everywhere at once.

In the back row, O’Brien was destructive at the breakdown and with ball in hand until he had to leave the field, although Tommy O’Donnell stepped up dutifully in his place. Jordi Murphy got through a huge amount of rucking, and became more prominent in terms of ball-carrying as the game progressed.

However, Ireland’s standout performer in the back row was Peter O’Mahony, who, like O’Connell, was omnipresent. The Munster captain hunted English players down and tackled ruthlessly. He caused a huge amount of disruption at the breakdown, and was a handful to stop when he carried the ball, putting in one of his best performances since the Ireland-Wales game last year.

England’s back row were completely outperformed by Ireland, who nullified the carrying threat of James Haskell and Billy Vunipola by having each of these players met by at least two tacklers every time they took the ball into contact. Billy Vunipola’s only effective carry came from a break of the back of a scrum which resulted in a cheap turnover when the number eight chose to kick the ball away.

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Chris Robshaw’s frustration at his teammates’ performances became quite apparent towards the end of the game.

These three players made 40 tackles between them, an impressive statistic, but what it doesn’t tell you is just how impotent they were at the breakdown. They may have been bigger than their Irish counterparts, but that meant that they were at a disadvantage in terms of getting their shoulders low enough when entering the ruck.

In the halves, Conor Murray had an excellent game for Ireland. His box kicks, which were expertly judged for the most part, caused England all sorts of trouble, and he took on practically all of the tactical kicking and game management responsibilities when Sexton was substituted in the second half.

He played referee Craig Joubert cleverly, pointing out English infringements with enough subtlety so as not to draw the South African’s ire. His darts around the ruck were impressive, considering how little leeway England usually give other teams in that area.

Sexton, despite a missed kick at goal in the first half when Ireland were on the attack, put in another commanding display at 10 until a hamstring issue forced him off in the 53rd minute, and it is very difficult to imagine England coming back into the game if he had stayed on the pitch. His tactical kicking in general exposed just about every flaw in this English team.

For England, Ben Youngs actually played decently, considering the poor quality of possession that was being presented to him. As for Ford, his inexperience at this level was brutally exposed by Ireland. Sexton targeted him with high balls to great effect, and hit him hard whenever he tried to take the ball to the line.

Ford’s restarts were poor, kicking long and thereby not putting Ireland under any pressure. This allowed Ireland to execute their exit strategy with relative ease. This game can be politely described as a part of learning curve for the young Bath flyhalf, and showed him just how far he has to go before he excels at this level.

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However, there is very little time for him to improve sufficiently before the World Cup begins, and England will not select him against big teams if he cannot stay composed under pressure.

In the centres, Robbie Henshaw deservedly won man-of-the match. He has taken to Test rugby extremely well for his age, and is becoming a more important player for Ireland as each game passes.

He got Ireland over the gain line on several occasions, and his finishing skill for his try was superb, in what was a major turning point for Ireland in this game. He and Jared Payne are still not yet unlocking defences by putting the ball through the hands, but Payne did show some nice touches whenever he got the ball in space.

England’s centre pairing endured a torrid afternoon. Aside from two midfield crashes off lineouts, Luther Burrell had a quiet game.

Jonathan Joseph, like Ford, offered a few glimpses of the trouble he can cause defences, but immense pressure from Ireland forced him into making several mistakes throughout the game. Over the course of the game, the skills of England’s much vaunted 10-12-13 axis gradually broke down under pressure.

In the back three, Simon Zebo had an outstanding game, and his aerial prowess now rivals that of Tommy Bowe, who put in another good performance in the air, as well as a number of good carries. Kearney put in another assured performance at fullback. He dealt with some tricky situations well, and took the right options whenever the ball came his way.

England struggled badly in this area. Nowell troubled the Irish defence throughout the game, and at times seemed just on the verge of breaking clear, but he also had to contend with some awful passes from his centres, as well as the Irish defence bundling him into touch on a couple of occasions.

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On the other wing, Watson endured a difficult game, struggling to deal with high balls, as well as receiving the ball several times with practically no space to run into. Goode ran the ball back purposefully whenever he got the chance, and he did a good job of dealing with Ireland’s aerial bombardment for 50 minutes or so. However, he was completely at fault for Ireland’s try, and cracked badly under pressure thereafter.

There was a huge difference between both teams in terms of the impact of their replacements. Cian Healy, Martin Moore, and Iain Henderson performed well when they were brought on, making influential tackles when England were trying to bludgeon their way back into the game. England’s replacements, on the other hand, were awful. Tom Youngs improved the scrum, but Mako Vunipola and Tom Croft were anonymous.

Nick Easter’s most notable contribution to the game was a knock-on following a bone-shuddering hit from Healy. Wigglesworth had to deal with the same pressure from Ireland’s forwards as Ben Youngs, and didn’t fare much better, barring one excellent break around the ruck.

Billy Twelvetrees in particular was dreadful, killing any momentum England generated with awful passing. His forward pass to Nowell which ended the game butchered a certain try. This error may prove costly in a tournament that could yet be decided by points difference.

Up next, Ireland cannot afford to take Wales lightly, not that they are likely to do so with Schmidt in charge. Wales’ victory in Paris will have boosted their confidence, and they are a dangerous team with momentum behind them. Their humiliation in Dublin last year will be no doubt fresh in their minds, and a backlash is on the cards.

If Ireland kick loosely to Wales’ back three and start falling off tackles, like they did against England in the second half, they will be in serious trouble. They also have a number of injury concerns, with O’Brien and Payne picking up head-knocks, and Sexton suffering a recurrence of the hamstring problem that has plagued him over the last few seasons.

Ireland will need to change certain tactics if they are to come away from Cardiff with a win. Launching the ball skyward is not likely to yield results against a back three that contains two fullbacks. Neither will targeting the 10 channel, as Biggar is an aggressive player and a competent tackler.

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Unlike last year, Wales have a full deck to choose from in the second row, so it is difficult to see Ireland dominating the lineout this time round.

As for England, there will no doubt be a reaction in their next game. After starting the tournament so well with a comeback in Cardiff, they have been out-thought and out-muscled by Ireland, and several of their players made unforgivable mistakes during the game which they need to be held accountable for.

Their inability to maintain consistency of performances is a concern, and does not bode well for them in terms of reaching the latter stages of the World Cup. Stuart Lancaster places a high value on discipline, and 13 penalties conceded is an awful statistic for a team who pride themselves on being well-drilled.

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