Andy Farrell's defence is leaving Ireland's side door wide open

Does look a bit breezy out there doesn't it? Russell has shown he has the skills to exploit it, really looking forward to this match!

Yes the system should be replicable but my point it hasn’t been and that Payne and/or Henshaw are the performers in the role. The concessions of 3 tries in matches is also marked by substantial changes/mid-match injuries to midfield e.g. NZ Dublin, Aus Dublin, etc. Given Schmidt and Farrell plus a number of experienced pundits have identified this as a problem as well, I’m gonna go with their instincts. ; )

The Lions are hardly an experienced side when they train together for a few weeks every 4 years. As individuals yes but as a group no. I agree with Pot, 13 has been Ireland's most changed position and it is also the position in he Ireland side that organises the defense so it can be a coincidence that there have been defensive weaknesses out wide. For me however, the numbers that Ireland commit to the breakdown is also contributing to gaps out wide.

Good detail PA, thanks but I am going to disagree with your premises on a couple of levels. 1. A system by its very nature is individual independent, you will get some minor variation on performance depending on who plays but the system should still work. Think, BIL ABs third test New Zealand 12,13,15 - Laumape, Anton LB, Jordie Barrett absolute babies to the top level and in critical defensive roles. Lions, Farrell, Davies, Williams -boasting some 140 more collective caps than their opposites, and NZs defensive system with the kids kept the most experienced side in the world tryless. 2. Seems when Henshaw and Payne play you concede 3 or more tries at the same rate at any other time 3.one more observation, when ireland work hard to keep good sides quiet, seems they struggle to cross the line themselves. I think you should way too many smarts for Scotland this weekend, but the whirlwind first 30 should be good for we neutrals.

Lack of consistent midfield and midfield defensive communication is a big problem for Ireland in keeping their defensive structure. That has been rooted in the 12 and critically the 13 shirt. Only two players have really filled that role successfully - Payne and now Henshaw. Contrast the midfield pairings and presence of Payne/Henshaw in low or zero tries conceded with when they were absent. Obviously not all the tries conceded were out wide: 2016/17 W v NZ Chicago (3 conceded) Henshaw, Payne, Trimble, Zebo, R Kearney L v NZ Dublin (3) Henshaw, Payne, Zebo, Trimble, R Kearney (Sexton, Henshaw and Stander all injured in first 22 minutes) W v Australia (3) Ringrose, Payne, Earls, Trimble, R Kearney (Payne, Trimble and Kearney all injured in first half) 6N L v Scotland (3) Henshaw, Ringrose, Zebo, Earls, R Kearney (first time midfield pairing at test level - and were scalded) W v Italy (0) Henshaw, Ringrose, Zebo, Earls, R Kearney W v France (0) Henshaw, Ringrose, Zebo, Earls, R Kearney L v Wales (3) Henshaw, Ringrose, Zebo, Earls, Kearney W v England )0) Henshaw, Ringrose, Zebo, Earls, Payne 2017/18 W v South Africa (0) Aki, Henshaw, Conway, Stockdale, R Kearney W v Fiji (3) McCloskey, Farrell, Conway, Sweetnam, D Kearney W v Argentina (2) Aki, Farrell, Byrne Stockdale, R Kearney 6N W v France (1) Aki, Henshaw, Earls, Stockdale, R Kearney W v Italy (3) Aki, Henshaw, Earls, Stockdale, R Kearney (Henshaw injured in 10th minute) W v Wales (3) Aki, Farrell, Stockdale, Earls, Kearney ? v Scotland (??) Aki, Ringrose, Stockdale, Earls, R Kearney

A combination of fat fingers , rapid spell check and typing while at the gym....,,,not a good idea that

"Isoniazid"? Do you have tuberculosis?

I personally don't think a rush defense is to blame for the gaps out wide but rather the emphasis on the Ireland team on rucking. Against Wales Ireland lost just one ruck, as is generally the case for most Ireland games. There is a huge emphasis on winning the breakdown which for me is the reason Ireland tend to dominate possession and territory against most teams including New Zealand but its also the reason there can be gaps out wide as players are committed to rucks. The rush defense is in place as a mitigant to stop the ball from going out wide quickly where they are vulnerable. It is therefore no surprise that Ireland's most spectacular loss came to Argentina when Ireland pre match lost some of their most important breakdown operators, Peter O'Mahoney, Sean O'Brien and Paul O'Connell and gained Chris Henry and Jordi Murphy and Iain Henderson all of whom struggled at the breakdown due to lack of match fitness. In dominating the breakdown Argentina we able to get quick ball to their wings and score some quick tries where Ireland were vulnerable. In the backs Jonny Sexton and Jarred Payne the two guys normally charged with organising the backs in terms of defense were also missing and as a result the team could not cope. It was the perfect storm for Argentina and they exploited it perfectly.

Won’t find a disagreement here

I think that Cruden would have done a much better job at 10 against the Lions than Barrett did. I think part of the reason that they did better in the first Test was because Cruden played at 10 for so much of it. Not saying that Cruden is a better 'player' than Barrett, but I think Cruden's game management and experience is superior.

oh for a Carter against the BIL too, the big Call is whether Russell can pick off a rush D twice in a row. Really don’t want to see him come totally unstuck like at start of the series

Geez McCaw would have exposed that door?

Yeah that was a game the ABs totally lost, was like watching the Canes!

How good is Huw Jones Up against another new Irish centre combo this week, you may be right and they go direct.

Good observations - Would add Faletau to your list of hole pluggers too Tha5 pendulum D isoniazid the backfield is just going to become even more critical as the game speeds up too.

H'lander O'Brien and George covered vital ground to fill "holes" for BIL. Rush defence needs blind side wing and FB in harmony, and a pod of forwards not over committing at rucks and moving across quickly to act as second line of defence. Farrell's defence is suited for their best team. A best team rarely takes the field but Ireland will be far improved v Scotland.

And Cane too if I recall Wasn’t pretty

Not just Savea, Barrett and, from memory, even Aaron Smith were guilty of bombing near certain tries also in the third test.

It's fair to say that all NZ teams struggled last year against Farrell's defensive systems and apart from the All Blacks they only got to have one crack at testing their attacking strategies. The BIL were effective in taking away time and space in the higher mass areas, not just by rushing up as a line but also by gaining parity or advantage at the gain line with strong tackling to slow or halt momentum. Statistically NZ teams tend to score majority of their tries off less than five phases, forcing them to recycle endless phases and show patience in creating scoring opportunities frustrated Kiwi Super teams. Defensive systems will always enjoy a short period of advantage while opposition digest and analyse different ways to beat them, then the game will equalise and the better teams will figure out how to exploit loopholes to find and create space. I remember under Graham Henry, the All Blacks always struggled to find space against SA's rush defence and Wayne Smith had to abandon his flat backline alignment to combat them.

Cheers, Highlander. Variety is the spice of life, indeed! Good to see a nice range of articles from you. That was a very impressive Scotland performance. Unfortunately consistency hasn't been their forte but they do tend to play well against Ireland so I'm expecting Gregor's boys to turn up with attacking intent. But I like this kid Huw Jones and South Africa was a great gap year for him. I expect up the middle rather than out wide is where Scotland are going to find Ireland napping on defence. Some cracking games to look forward to.