Ten Irish players started every game - not a single player from New Zealand, South Africa or England did the same
Ireland’s Andrew Porter and Tadhg Furlong against Scotland in their World Cup game in Stade de France, Paris. I felt that the over-reliance on Andrew Porter, the Tadhgs Furlong and Beirne, Caelan Doris and Bundee Aki told in the end as they looked a little below par across the final 80 minutes. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inphoin the semi-final four years ago. But it was the sheer depth of South Africa’s squad that denied them.
Manie Libbok was replaced on 30 minutes. On a very basic level it tells the world he is not the player they trusted to win the match. Even if it begs the question of why they started him, you must admire this level of confidence from the South African coaches. So many coaches shy away from big calls like these and leave players on the field too long. I have rarely played with anyone who was able to find a way to turn around a game that clearly wasn’t happening for them.
Was there a genuine strength in depth within the Irish squad to be able to compete consistently with the top teams? The evidence of the World Cup suggests there wasn’t. Take away Jamison Gibson-Park being rested for the Tonga game and what other examples of rotation were there? Any other replacements were largely injury-dependent. That tells you that there is still a gap between the top players and the next layer beneath.
We are talking about very small margins here, obviously. But clutch matches are decided by small margins. Keystone players were below their peak physical performance state, which is understandable considering how many of them started every match. None of the New Zealand players started every match. None of the South Africa players started every match. None of the England players started every match.
It comes back to structures. Our professional game is primarily driven by the schools’ game. Our X-factor has been secured through nationalised recruitment. The club game has minimal effect on our international squad, with Furlong the only club-originated player at the World Cup.
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