On second thought, perhaps some old traditions are best left to fade away into oblivion. What should have been a cracking match was instead a bore. Professional rugby coaches seem to enjoy writing buzz words on big sheets of paper to inspire the troops. Obviously ambition was not one of the ones found in either locker room. What we were instead treated to were two sides dead set on not making mistakes, and it made for awful watching.
The question is, who is to blame? Surely the players had been given instructions by the coaches. Jonathan Callard and Dan McFarland were the respective head coaches for England and Ireland, but given that there was only one A fixture on the schedule, and another week yet until the start of the main tournament, why weren’t the reigns simply handed to Stuart Lancaster and Joe Schmidt? Would their view of the match been any different? Would their direct involvement have changed anything?
Perhaps the idea was to try to mimic ‘test match conditions’, but surely allowing the players to express themselves would have given them something more to look at. The pressure of wearing a national jersey in the shop window of the selectors should have been enough. Kicks to nothing, one-out hit-ups, rolling mauls. So much for being a step above Premiership level.
If there was any rugby at all played in the first hour, it was by England, and Henry Slade’s try was rewards enough, though just as easily attributed to very slack Irish defense. Dave Ewers and Matt Kvesic each played a key role in creating it, so too Elliot Daly, who conjured a large portion of the interesting moments in the match. He played well, but some of the commentary disseminated from recognized rugby media after the match was hyperbole at its worst.
Thankfully the reserve scrumhalves, still awake much to the delight of the fans, decided they’d had enough and started to move the ball away from the breakdown with considerably more enthusiasm. Kieran Marmion will not enjoy that he was outplayed by Isaac Boss, 12 years his senior and playing as if their ages were reversed. Joe Simpson must have been inspired by Boss’ immediate impact, and he too looked significantly sharper than Lee Dickson.
Lancaster would have taken the most out of the match, though one wonders if actually take anything given his recent selection record. The back row, to a man, were excellent. Thomas Waldrom carried his Exeter form over, and if his club mate Ewers wasn’t man-of-the-match he was awfully close. His thunderous impacts on either side of the ball laughed in the face of Nick Easter’s recall to the senior side. Kvesic won his dual with Sean O’Brien and made a nuisance of himself at the breakdown, and even Carl Fearns, the bald bludgeon who these days looks like he could eat Gavin Henson for an appetizer, made a heap of noise in his limited time on the pitch.
Slade looked classy at no10, though his instincts and timing were understandably a little off after playing midfield all season at Sandy Park. Speaking of class, it oozed off Chris Pennell, who showed no ill effects whatsoever of playing in the lowly Championship with Worcester. It was a timely reminder that a legitimate alternative exists to the flashy running of Brown, Goode, and Watson. Henry Thomas also went well, scoring at least one turnover and holding up well in the scrum against Jack McGrath.
Of course none of these people are Sam Burgess, who was ushered onto his behind with his first touch of the ball by Dominic Ryan. The big centre had a forgettable game, but should be excused given his inexperience. It’s safe to say the Six Nations won’t be happening for him this year, though let’s not write him off for the World Cup just yet.
A couple others worth keeping in mind are Christian Wade and Maro Itoje. Despite the proclamation of Chris Ashton as the second coming of Barry John by Stuart Barnes, it was Wade who was the most impressive winger on the pitch, and his scorching finish to seal the match was another gentle tug at Lancaster’s coattails. As for Itoje, his first senior representative outing was remarkable. Replacing James Gaskell early on, he displayed an incredible engine and his strength in the contact area was notable. If anyone is to be fast-tracked, there is certainly a case to be made for him in the no6 jersey.
As for Ireland and their Lions, well, they didn’t do much purring. Luke Fitzgerald was a late scratch from the lineup, Gordon D’Arcy looks like his test days are well over, and O’Brien did some good things but is clearly short of match fitness. Keith Earls was the best of the bunch, showing his usual good footwork, but was still easily overpowered in the tackle. His best shot at another test jersey might be as an impact sub, but even that might be a stretch.
Ryan’s welcome party for Burgess brought big cheers from the partisan crowd, and he enjoyed a fine game on the blindside flank, a position he looks more suited to. His lineout work was top drawer as well. Equally impressive, if not more so, was Iain Henderson. Abrasive and prominent throughout, he looks absolutely ready to jump into the test side in a week, though likely on the bench behind Paul O’Connell and Devin Toner. If he keeps this form up, however, Toner could find it hard to keep his spot.
So if that was it for the ‘A’ internationals, it turns out we won’t cry after all. It was a good run, but until the northern season is restructured, if it ever is, there doesn’t seem to be any advantage over playing a regular club match. The stars were aligned and still we didn’t get the goods. If it weren’t for Boss & Simpson we might have had an all-time snorefest on our hands. It opened on a downward spiral, but thanks to Wade, at least it closed on a high.
IRELAND ‘A’ 9 vs 18 ENGLAND ‘A’
Friday, January 30, 19:45 GMT, Cork
SCORING
22 mins – H. Slade try 0-5
26 mins – H. Slade pen 0-8
35 mins – I. Madigan pen 3-8
40 mins – H. Slade pen 3-11
50 mins – I. Madigan pen 6-11
58 mins – I. Madigan pen 9-11
79 mins – C. Wade try 9-16
80 mins – H. Slade con 9-18
IRELAND ‘A’
F. Jones (capt.); F. McFadden (A. Conway 12), K. Earls, G. D’Arcy, C. Gilroy (N. Reid 73); I. Madigan, K. Marmion (I. Boss 55); J. McGrath (M. Bent 58), R. Strauss (R. Herring 51), M. Ross (N. White 53); I. Henderson, M. McCarthy (R. Diack HT); D. Ryan, S. O’Brien (E. McKeon 51), J. Conan.
ENGLAND ‘A’
C. Pennell; C. Ashton (C. Wade 50), E. Daly, S. Burgess (O. Devoto 73), M. Yarde; H. Slade, L. Dickson (capt.) (J. Simpson 63); M. Mullan (A. Webber 50), R. Webber (L. Cowan-Dickie 50), H. Thomas (J. Cooper-Woolley 73); M. Garvey, J. Gaskell (M. Itoje 15); D. Ewers, M. Kvesic, T. Waldrom (C. Fearns 73).
Referee: N. Hennessy (WRU)
Assistants: S. Rees (WRU) & S. Kibble (WRU)
TMO: G. Simmonds (WRU)
