Not that last Saturday’s 35-17 loss to France in Paris was the same sort of humiliation they’d experienced in Melbourne, Australia, just a few months ago, but it was a sobering start just the same.
With coach Eddie O’Sullivan insisting that the glass was half full, and given the absence through injury of Brian O’Driscoll, Geordan Murphy and Denis Hickie — the team’s three most potent attackers — there was some effective damage limitation at the Stade de France. However, this was a game Ireland never remotely looked like winning.
Early in the second half, Ireland trailed by only 11-10 following Anthony Foley’s excellent try and conversion by the architect of the score, Ronan O’Gara. Yet just when they were in a position to ask France some serious questions, the home side ran in two quick tries and the contest was all but over.
There was also some talk about how Ireland were tenacious, about how in the past they would have caved in embarrassingly in the final quarter, but in the professional era competing until the final whistle should surely be a prerequisite, not something to crow about.
In truth, with the exceptions of newly installed captain Paul O’Connell, Gordon D’Arcy, who replaced O’Driscoll, and to a lesser extent O’Gara, the Irish were decidedly mediocre. And even if a victory was too much to anticipate given the injury list, the tame nature of the eventual capitulation was frustrating given that France also performed well below their best.
O’Sullivan for his part was determined to put a positive gloss on the result. “We weren’t as far away as the scoreline suggested,” he said. “It’ll go down as an 18-point defeat in Paris, which is a little harsh. I thought we were unlucky not to put another try in. We made a couple of mistakes to let them in for soft scores and that was a bit disappointing.”
Wing Vincent Clerc had scored France’s first try during the first half, but when O’Gara astutely chipped over the defense and then offloaded to Foley for an opportunistic try just minutes after the interval, Ireland were back in the game. But the winners replied swiftly with scores by Pascal Pape and Yannick Jauzion to make it 28-10, and although wing Tyrone Howe added Ireland’s second try following an excellent half-break by D’Arcy, France finished the job when Jean-Baptiste Elissalde ran in unopposed from 30 meters.
The result now puts increased pressure on O’Sullivan and his players, who meet a rejuvenated Wales at Lansdowne Road on Sunday. The Welsh were comprehensive 23-10 winners over Scotland, making a positive impression with their invention and pace, and should Ireland fail at home, then the prospect of finishing third in the championship behind either France or World Cup winners England, who crushed Italy by 50-9 in Rome, will have vanished.
The good news is that O’Driscoll should return as captain to provide a cutting edge in midfield, but the bad news is that he’s woefully short of match practice after a month on the sidelines. His replacement, D’Arcy, did well enough in Paris to stay in the side and it looks now like he’ll be taking over from Howe. Shane Byrne could lose out to Frankie Sheahan. And Malcolm O’Kelly will do well to hold off the challenge of the emerging Donncha O’Callaghan in the second row.
It’s not a question of making too many changes for this crucial fixture, it’s more a question of the majority of the players upping their performance and imposing their game on the Welsh. France was the start; the result wasn’t everything. But another defeat on Sunday will effectively spell the end of the championship.