February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Even though O’Sullivan continued to insist that his vessel was half-full, the shafts of sunlight over the past fortnight have been watery. The 21-year-old Ulster center Andrew Trimble has caught the eye, Denis Leamy continues to improve and there was a return to his old dynamic form for Gordon D’Arcy, but that was about it.
The bigger picture is of an Ireland side short on ideas and even shorter on confidence. The feel good of nearly two seasons ago when the Triple Crown was won with organization and spontaneity has long since disappeared. It now seems that the more experienced players are either stale or injured like Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell, while the new breed struggles for recognition.
O’Sullivan gave players like Geordan Murphy and Donncha O’Callaghan the opportunity to redeem themselves following the underwhelming performance against Australia, but even if there was some improvement, the omens for the Six Nations championship which kicks off early next year are not good.
The choice of the veteran David Humphreys in the pivotal out-half position says much about the current form of Ronan O’Gara who is rumored to have had a spat with O’Sullivan after the Australia game.
While the coach is adamant that he is introducing a more creative, expansive, less predictable pattern of play, there haven’t been too many signs of a new style evolving of late. “We’re not firing on all cylinders,” he admitted. “But I never really anticipated that at this point of the season with the injury profile and the transition that’s going on.”
Playing into a freezing cold wind, Ireland made a mistake-ridden, sluggish start and were fortunate to run in a couple of tries through the impressive Trimble and new cap Neil Best. The second half might have been better in terms of the scoreboard, but in terms of thoroughly dominating Romania, the Irish failed dismally.
Tries were added on at regular intervals from Trimble again, Johnny O’Connor, Murphy and substitute Girvan Dempsey to consolidate the lead, yet there was precious little to savor. “We’re doing the hard job of actually causing problems for the defense, but we’re actually careless at the key moment when we need to put in the pass to score,” O’Sullivan said.
With the Six Nations – effectively the championship of Europe – looming, and with away games against France and England, O’Sullivan may yet see his half-full glass draining even further. On the evidence of the many games over the past fortnight, Wales are still ahead of Ireland, Scotland are rapidly improving, and even Italy won’t concede victory that easily in Dublin.
The sooner O’Driscoll and O’Connell return the better.