“Up until the very last second, Bundee Aki was only passing right.”
On Saturday (Sunday and Monday too), the nation marvelled at the stunning Ireland set-play that opened up England’s defence at cleared the way for CJ Stander to score his side’s second try.
Tadhg Furlong’s smart and his flicked pass, Johnny Sexton’s dummy run, Bundee Aki’s break, Garry Ringrose’s support line and Stander’s presence of mind – with James Haskell and Chris Robshaw hanging off him – to score against the base of the post. That try had it all.
There were so many parts that went into the score but, on The Hard Yards, former Leinster and Ireland flanker Kevin McLaughlin [from 19:00 below] highlighted Stander’s role in how it all played out.
With Ringrose steaming up, off his right shoulder, and faced with a one-on-one with Anthony Watson, Aki instead chose to pass left to Stander. This is where trust comes into it. Aki sticking to a preordained plan to find his No.8 on the charge.
McLaughlin comments:
“I would say Stander said to Bundee during the week, ‘I’m going to steam up on the inside on this play. If you make a break, I’ll be on your inside’.
“I’d say he said it alright. Jamie Heaslip used to be very good at doing that, off those lineout plays. He’d run straight from the lineout and he’d be on the inside, and he got a load of tries from it. He would have said it during the week [to Aki] – ‘I’ll be on your left shoulder’.”
Stander knew exactly what Aki was planning.
Once you have this insight, you can see Stander, having made a show for a pass and a dummy run, is the furthest Irish player forward. That would prove crucial in giving him the jump on the English defenders.
The Munster forward came good on a training ground play, and vow, to finish the work Furlong, Sexton and Aki had started.
With all that in mind, there’s nothing left to do now but enjoy the whole play, and score, again:
Poetry in motion. Teamwork in action.
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