Joe Schmidt was given a stark introduction to Test rugby last November as New Zealand ran a penalty from their own 10-metre line, kept the ball in play for 2:20 and scored a winning try in injury time.
Schmidt is known for his meticulous nature and for pushing his players to the brink in training. He transplanted his ‘Killer Drill’ from Leinster to the national set-up. Ireland ran relentless attacking drills, 15 on 15, inside the 22 with Schmidt not ceasing play until 2:20 had passed. The idea was to give his players a taster of the break-neck speed of international rugby, sharpen ruck-clearing skills and force them to make decisions in the midst of chaos.
A visit to Twickenham in February of this year convinced Schmidt to increase the time of the training drill. England winger Jonny May dived over in the right-hand corner after England had kept the ball in motion for 2:31. Ireland had a lucky escape as May spilled the ball in contact and the Television Match Official ruled ‘no try’. Regardless, Schmidt opted to increase the drills to three minutes.
Ireland’s ability to finish off attacking positions in the opposition’s red zone (the 22) was one of their key benchmarks for success in last season’s Six Nations. Nine of their 16 tries were initiated in the 22, either through the line-out and rolling mauls or from starting and finishing moves off after numerous phases and effective clearing out at ruck time.
It was fitting that the Johnny Sexton try that ignited the Irish comeback against France, in that Six Nations clincher, was scored after Schmidt’s men tore into the hosts. Peter O’Mahony claimed a line-out and the French set themselves up for a maul. Ireland let them think mauling was their play but, instead, Chris Henry transferred to Murray and a three-on-two was on.
The Munster scrum-half made ten metres off the back of the clever decoy and Ireland were on the front foot. Cian Healy and Best both carried well, with Paul O’Connell and Henry never far away and on clear-out duty. Four times in eleven phases Irish players (including O’Connell and Devin Toner) went beyond the protected carrier at the breakdown. Healy was back on the scene for phase number 10 and drew in three blue shirts. The move almost broke down as Murray was snaffled by Pascal Pape only for Henry to play scrum-half and unload a sublime flick pass that Sexton ran onto, cutting inside with Mathieu Bastareaud flat-footed. 11 phases over 1:12.
At Carton House this week, Ireland loose-head Dave Kilcoyne commented, ‘We’ve talked about the need to make constant improvements and to never be happy with where we are.’ Schmidt is not one to rest on his laurels and keenly noted a phase of play in South Africa’s 27-25 victory over New Zealand last month.
‘When Pollard plays,’ says Schmidt, ‘South Africa they play a lot. The first phase of play in the most recent test went 3:20. A South African phase of play traditionally went probably 20 seconds. They would receive and maybe put the ball out if it was deep in their own half. They got the ball deep in their own half and they played their way out of the half.’
Les Kiss, Schmidt’s able assistant, has been credited for high tempo training drills to prepare Ireland in case the South Africans decide they are in Dublin to play ball. Schmidt adds, ‘The players are going to have to work much harder because that would be an area we will be working pretty hard on, to make sure we are ready for a South African team that is a lot different to the 2007 World Cup winning team with a very different coaching philosophy as to what Heyneke Meyer has adopted in recent teams.
Late, late show
Another vital element of the game, and one that Schmidt has pinned to the bulletin board, is South Africa’s ability to go as close as humanly possible to full throttle for 80 minutes. Six weeks ago, the Springboks trailed Australia 8-10 with eleven minutes remaining. Pat Lambie slotted a drop goal to edge them in front but the Boks had no intention of sitting back on a one-point lead. Meyer’s men raced in three tries in the final nine minutes to win 28-10.
Keeping enough in reserve also comes in handy when defending a lead. Lambie’s monstrous penalty against the All Blacks gave South Africa a two-point advantage with 70 seconds remaining. New Zealand have proved devastatingly adept at turning defeats into victories with late, late shows but South Africa held firm. Whereas Irish players – many of them out on their feet – lingered needlessly on the edges of rucks against the All Blacks, the South Africans refused to get sucked in and maintained a strong defensive line.
Going into rucks was a solo effort unless the Springbok players felt the ball was there to be won. This was when Steve Luatua (on the left wing) and Charlie Faumuina looked isolated. The wait-and-see tactic paid off as Duane Vermeulen and Schalk Burger pounced and won their team a match-winning turnover.
Many hoped Ireland’s nail-biting win over France would prove a future norm, rather than an exception, when it came to closing out matches from winning positions. Argentina then scored 78th minute tries against Ireland in the summer Tests, causing Schmidt to vent his spleen about his side switching off. A sign of true progression would be seeing out, or sneaking a tight game against the Springboks this weekend.
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