Choking Wallabies and Mighty Minnows

Still can't believe it...

It was absolutely incredible to hear Quade Cooper saying after the match that he had been unaware of Ireland's choke tackle tactic before witnessing it first hand. Extraordinary stuff indeed! We've been using it for a couple of seasons at this stage, as have the provinces. Unbelievable... What with the incredible over-confidence on display from the Aussies all week and the loss of arguably their two best forwards, - in the shape of David Pocock and Stephen Moore - the omens were good, but it's still incredible.

I remember we played the Wallabies about two years ago in Croke Park in the first of our series of Autumn internationals. As usual, we came out seriously undercooked, and an emerging Wallaby team were well on top. This was the beginning of a couple of come-down seasons for Ireland, arguably lasting until Saturday! We had just won the Grand Slam earlier that year; Leinster had gone on to win the Heineken Cup for the first time, and a number of the squad had went out to South Africa and played extremely well for the Lions. It looked like things were on the up, but this was to be the start of the hangover for Ireland. We came out for the first game of the season and were definitely second best against a team already half way into their season. But out of the blue, right at the death, off the back of a good scrum platform, we pulled off a strike move that saw Brian O'Driscoll glide in under the posts, with the conversion sealing the draw. I couldn't believe it at the time, we had played so badly, but I realised that something had changed within the team; they could now play for 80 minutes and they now had a new belief in themselves. They had conquered the North and this was to be the start of a two-year period where Ireland would prepare to take on the South and finally establish themselves.

OK, so things didn't really go to plan thereafter. Ireland seemed to drift into a malaise that they couldn't shake off. The England game did affirm for many that this team had a big-game temperament and at this stage it really does look as if Ireland were waiting for this game to come around, in the end the poor build-up does seem irrelevant, this team's hard edge was already forged, in the Millennium Stadium, on the Highveld of South Africa and in the Southern strongholds of France.

The defense was brilliant on Saturday, as was the ferocity at the breakdown. The backrow proved, I think, that they can work as a unit. Everybody was so excited about seeing O'Brien cut loose that people forget that Stephen Ferris is a blind-side of the highest calibre. He was superb. But it was in the tight that we won this game. It's great to see that Rory Best seems to have set aside some of the hesitancy about his game and discovered a real confidence about what he's doing. Flannery may yet be missed but not while Best stays fit. I felt that Cian Healy would play a massive roll if we were to succeed and he's really coming good on his potential. The backs too showed the steely edge that was needed and I was glad to see Kearney back to provide some security and Tommy Bowe looking sharper now with every game. What a win! Those poor Aussies, I suspect, still don't know what hit them!

As far as Russia is concerned, there should be room here for the fringe players to have a go. People like Leo Cullen and Isaac Boss deserve their chance, while for someone like Sean Cronin, game-time is now more important than ever with the withdrawal of Flannery seeing him back in as first-choice back-up. But the centre partnership could be crucial. If Drico was fully fit I would say play him again with Fergus McFadden inside, testing out this potential starting partnership if D'Arcy's hamstring continues to trouble him. However, O'Driscoll is not fully fit, and was clearly playing through the pain barrier once again on Saturday. This is really tough as while ideally you might rest both centres, it would potentially be better for the future to find out how McFadden plays with one or other of the starting pair, sounding out his future role for the team down the line. In all likelihood there will be injuries in this World Cup, and with our fortunes now vastly improved we must be prepared to play the long game. As for those now calling for ROG and Sexton to be started together, a word of caution. Whilst this seems to have potential as a stop gap solution, a real centre replacement would always be better.

Adam Kleeberger of Canada

Elsewhere things are not now looking good for the minnows. The enthusiasm of some of the 'lesser' teams has faded somewhat, but it was absolutely thrilling to watch them having a fair crack at their power-house opponents throughout the first phase of fixtures. Namibia seem to have discovered some backs to compliment some of the grit up front. Centre Danie Van Wyk has been electric for them out wide, I don't think he even has a club! That could well change. Japan have been gallant as always with hooker Shota Horie and scrum-half Fumiaki Tanaka in particular showing class. They're not called the Brave Blossoms for nothing, and have a wonderful continuity game. They will be pressing hard for a win in their two remaining fixtures against Tonga and the in-form Canada. The Canucks have been brilliant in the tournament so far, with Adam Kleeberger - winner of the 'best beard in the competition' award - ferocious at number 6 and DTH van der Merwe - winner of the 'longest name in the competition' award - providing some class in the backs. They really put it up to France, fair play to them. Things are not going so well for Samoa. Having lost one of their classy half-backs, in the shape of Tusi Pisi, they were unable to prevail against a really improved Wales pack, and must now rely on a do or die encounter against the Boks. An upset here would not please Ireland as it would bring the outcome of that group down to bonus points and such and could potentially see us still face South Africa in the quarter. OK, so I haven't done all the maths there so there's no need to be alarmed, it's highly unlikely anyways...

Everywhere else things are proceeding as expected. The big games to look out for now are New Zealand v France on Sat 24th at 9:30; Argentina v Scotland the next day at 8:30; whilst England v Scotland, Samoa v South Africa and Fiji v Wales - all the following weekend - could yet have a bearing. The Ireland v Italy game goes without saying as it could still be a tricky one. No-one ever really looks that good against Italy, we'll be happy to pull off the win. I'm really looking forward to Canada v Japan on Tuesday 27th at the lovely time of 5 AM, should be a cracker. Good luck sleeping pattern!

I thought I'd pick my 'Team of the Tournament (so far)' for the craic, enjoy!


Team of the Tournament (so far)

15. Kurtley Beale (Australia)
14. Vincent Clerc (France)

Paulie takes time out of a ruck to ponder my selection.

13. Danie Van Wyk (Namibia)
12. Ma'a Nonu (New Zealand)
11. Richard Kahui (New Zealand)
10. Rhys Priestland (Wales)
 9.  Fumiaki Tanaka (Japan)
 8.  George Stowers (Samoa)
 7. Sam Warburton (Wales)
 6. Adam Kleeberger (Canada)
 5. Paul O'Connell (Ireland)
 4. Brad Thorn (New Zealand)
 3. Mike Ross (Ireland)
 2. Marius Tincu (Romania)
 1. Cian Healy (Ireland)


So no-one's ever going to fully agree with a team like this, but I think I've gotten a healthy mix of star-players and surprise performers. What do ye think? It's incredible to think that three of the tight-five are Irish but they deserve it! They answered a lot of questions. Italy will ask plenty more...