Ireland’s 43-20 loss to Argentina demonstrates just how much the loss of one or two players can affect the outcome.
Without their great captain and leader Paul O’Connell and flyhalf Johnny Sexton to steer them around the park, the Irish were no match for an Argentinian side full of running and brimming with self-belief.
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Not only that, Ireland entered the match without their first-choice flankers Sean O’Brien and Peter O’Mahony.
Talk about playing with your hands tied behind your back. The only country that might be able to survive pre-game losses like that is New Zealand. Sadly, the depth of Irish rugby is not strong enough to do so.
To Ireland’s credit they were within striking range at 23-20 and 20 minutes to go but simply could not last the distance.
This is not to take anything away from Argentina’s performance. We have been waiting a long time to see an unshackled Argentina. Their willingness to embrace a wider game and their ability to execute such a plan has cast aside the traditional label of a 10-man outfit, with a world-class forward pack and No 10, but little else.
The performance by flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez was impeccable and his haul of 23 points was pivotal in Argentina’s success. His acting skills are not too bad either, milking a penalty from Devon Toner’s high tackle.
It is a tremendous result for Argentina and for World Rugby, as we now have another genuine championship contender for the World Cup.
Ireland’s defeat and Australia’s great escape from an inspired Scotland clearly demonstrated the importance of key players.
The absence of inspirational backrower David Pocock was painfully obvious as the Wallabies produced their worst performance of the Cup to win by the skin of their teeth.
But the narrow win is the best thing that could have happened to Australia, and the Wallabies should have Pocock, as well as dynamic fullback Israel Folau, back for the semi-final against Argentina.
Pocock’s importance cannot be overstated. Like O’Connell for Ireland or Sanchez for Argentina, Pocock is critical to the Wallabies’ chances of success.
For the Wallabies to win, the ruck battle must be won. There are far more rucks than scrums and lineouts combined, so whoever wins the turnover battle usually wins the game, and Pocock is one of the best in the world in this area. While his combination with Michael Hooper works very well, Hooper’s strengths are more in attack and general defence.
Scotland understood this and took advantage of Pocock’s absence by selecting two traditional number 7s. And what a difference it made. Scotland controlled the breakdown and won five turnovers to Australia’s three.
Hooper should retain his spot at No. 7, with David Pocock at No. 8, although the Wallabies would lose nothing with Ben McCalman at Number 8 and Pocock at 7, should the need arise.
Nonetheless, the bottom line is that the Pocock/Hooper combination has proven to work against the benchmark in world rugby, the mighty All Blacks, and now is not the time for tinkering.
It is difficult to get a read on how Argentina will perform in the semi-final. While they will have drawn great confidence from their win against Ireland and Scotland’s brave efforts, they are facing an Australian side which now understands how easy it is to get tipped out of the World Cup.
Argentina may well have played their grand final against Ireland.
Without taking anything away from Scotland’s magnificent performance, the Wallabies played far below their best, with the exception of Kurtley Beale. Of course, a team only plays as well as they are allowed to, but subconsciously some of the Wallabies may have been over-confident coming into the match.
If in fact that was the case, there is no danger of that happening again.
Australia has to win the ruck battle, and examine what went wrong in the scrum, being penalised for collapsing on three occasions.
While Scott Sio might be held primarily responsible, the fact of the matter is that scrums are a collective effort. Sio has been extremely good for Australia in his Test appearances to date, and the Wallabies should be able to rectify whatever the problem was.
A full-strength Australia should win the semi-final against Argentina, but Los Pumas will not lie down, as they enjoy their time in the sun after defeating Ireland.
Just as it should be.
Taylorman
Guest
Well it had the worst English side in World cup history didnt it?
Taylorman
Guest
They werent the weakest before the matches. People just decided they were when they got thrashed. Scotland were the least likely upset. Many picked france to win and their pool results werent bad.
Cylon
Guest
Except against France they didn't. Nz''s biggest problem all year has been poor handling. To two games where the handling was good they thumped there opponents (aus,fra). If nz hang onto the pill, they are going to be very hard to beat.
Cylon
Guest
Exactly. The results have shown the strongest pool was the nz/arg pool.
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
Ireland were crushed, not beaten. Other teams win with a few injuries. Irish rugby is going nowhere. If you want to see rugby making progress somewhere, look at rugby in Argentina.
Digger9
Guest
Respectfully, I think you're being disingenuous to the Pumas. I hate to sound trite, but injuries/suspensions really do affect every team. It's part of the game- we don't play in a vacuum. Of course losing Sexton, O'Connell, and O'Brien would have a negative effect, but the Pumas have been missing some very strong players as well. In my opinion the two Pumas who struggled the most with the Irish were Herrera and Cordero, both replacing much stronger players. Herrera was a replacement for Juan Figallo, who before he was injured was one of the premier tighthead props in the world. He's just getting back to fitness now, but a healthy Figallo makes a huge difference in the scrum. Also, even though Cordero was lively he made several mistakes that handed potential opportunities to the Irish. He was replacing Manuel Montero, a man who the Irish have a history of not tackling (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_TlW1N598k). He would've given Dave Kearney fits. Not saying the Irish weren't severely impacted by the loss of their players, just making the point that it's a problem every team has to endure.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
But B-Rock it wasn't "one if the best fly half performances". It was an excellent individual game. A lot more Matt Burke than Michael Ella though. I say this based on the anonymous performances from most of numbers 11-15. How could one of the best fly half performances have not involved setting up runners?
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Actually I've looked at tries anyway. I've exclud d the USA and Uruguay games on the basis of their minnow status. Cooper/Toomua - 5 games - 16 tries. Just over 3 per per game. 13 scored by 10-15. Just under 3 per game. Foley/Giteau - 5 games - 14 tries. Just under 3 per game. 8 scored by 10-15. Just over 1.5 per game. Foley/Toomua - 9 games - 25 tries. Just over 2.5 per game. 15 tries scored by 10-15. Just over 1.5 per game. Cooper/Giteau - 11 games - 36 tries. 3.3 per games. 26 tries scored by 10-15. 2.4 per game. Obviously tries are tries, but if you're 10-15 isn't scoring them you're generally relying on your forwards to get the job done there. Hooper for examples scored multiple great solo tries in 2014. I'm surprised how well Cooper & Giteau combined (I was thinking a lot of blame rested with Giteau), but 10 of those 11 games occurred 5 years ago, so we don't know if they could consistently recapture that.
tvwatcherIntheweehours
Guest
Preparation stage for the Argies... like us in a certain Eden Park... :)
tvwatcherIntheweehours
Guest
Optimistic.. let's start playing well the next one, then see. I fear the worst.
tvwatcherIntheweehours
Guest
So what is your conclusion? Do I infer correctly...?
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Actually if you read the statistics it paints one player as failing to contribute to a strong attacking combo. Giteau. Didn't combine well with Cooper and has not with Foley either. Tries scored ignores which players actually set up tries. Line break assists would be the best stat but it's not published.
tvwatcherIntheweehours
Guest
A game is 80 minutes and can be played by 21 (or 22? how many replacement allowed in this RWC?) players. The winner is the team that can sustain 80mn at high pace with strong consistency. The Argentinian have beaten the Irish there, in the last 20mn. I think the Aussies should beat the Argies there. If Pocock and Folau are fit they could be backed by McCalman and Beale. But that would be great to see Beale and Folau (fit) together. I would love to see McMahon too... backing Hooper? What about the Foley/Q.Cooper couple... Cooper should start to frighten the Argies. And some of us.
Johnny Boy Jnr
Guest
This is true unless you're New Zealand. They could have 5 key players out and you still wouldn't bet against them
Jameswm
Guest
Yes.
Jameswm
Guest
Sure. That's why Australia belted them - in Argentina - in the RC.
Bluetooth
Guest
So would that make the irish chockers since they can't win a quarter final
Minz
Guest
Well, I'm worried. Argentina looked great against Ireland - strong forwards, beautiful incisive back-line running, lots of front-foot ball. Not sure the Wallabies can stand up against that physical pressure.
Derm
Roar Guru
Colin - You seem to have an issue with Irish fans. At what point was I bragging about Ireland's chances? I'm not making excuses. Ireland lost fair and square. Argentina were the better team on the day - no question. You and Nobrain seem incapable of accepting the point that losing 5-6 key players who are first choice starters from any team will not affect their performance. That's the point of the article. And that Ireland didn't have the depth to replace those players sufficiently. Instead you regard it as excuse making because you think it casts a slight on the victors. It doesn't. The other team still has to play well and win. Argentina did and won convincingly.
Utah
Guest
Ok, well you're labelling all Irish rugby fans as up themselves. But no, you don't like stereotypes do you? Get over yourself.