It’s hard to form many hard and fast conclusions from last weekend’s run about in Cardiff. The Welsh challenge was so disappointing that it has probably left Joe Schmidt second-guessing the performances of his own players to a certain degree.
Warren Gatland is clearly preparing his squad at a different pace to Schmidt, with fitness and conditioning of greater importance to them at this point as they focus on that pivotal group game against England on September 26th. In contrast, Ireland’s players have been doing ball work for several weeks now and the difference in the sharpness between the two sets of players was clear to see.
Of the many impressive Irish performances at the Millennium Stadium, one that stood-out for me was Donnacha Ryan. In his first Ireland game in almost two and a half years, the Munsterman took charge of the lineouts, showed superb work-rate and skill around the pitch and (crucially) played the full 80 minutes. Ryan was even one of the ones who Schmidt singled-out afterwards when he spoke about players who had “put their hands up”.
It’s fair to say that Ryan’s display overshadowed that of his second-row partner Iain Henderson, who was replaced by Dan Tuohy in the 51st minute (Incidentally, Tuohy’s cameo has left Ireland with a range of healthy options in the second-row, which was supposed to be a problem position not 12 months ago). While it’s hard to compare Ireland’s players against their Welsh counterparts, it is instructive to compare Ryan and Henderson’s performances, since it was a game in which both players needed to make a good impression for differing reasons.
Ryan has now proved that his injury problems are behind him and that he can effectively deputise for Paul O’Connell if necessary. For Henderson, it was a chance to add to the growing clamour for him to somehow be shoehorned into the Irish pack, either at the expense of Peter O’Mahony or Devin Toner, who is one of the most improved and most consistent Irish players in the Schmidt era.
In my opinion, trying to force the 23-year-old into the side would be a mistake. Not only would it disrupt one of the more settled units in the team, it would also blunt the effectiveness of the Irish line-out. But perhaps most importantly, playing him from the start would also detract from Henderson’s own strengths, which lend themselves to playing as an impact player.
Henderson made his debut for Ireland against South Africa in 2012. Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Billy Stickland
Last May, Henderson spoke to Off the Ball about how he prefers playing at no.6 than in the second-row and also admitted that he had struggled to get to grips with his role as an impact sub.
“I find that coming off the bench is something that at the start of my career I needed to work on. You have to get your head into the game and you’re thrown into the middle of it and you don’t have any time to ease yourself into game. So I’d say that it’s something I’ve worked on and it’s something that I’ve been trying to get better and better at given that I knew that I’d have to be working for a spot on the bench before I can attempt to seal down a starting place in any squad.”
“Trying to get your second wind before you come onto the pitch so that you’re not completely blowing when you get on the pitch. Another thing would be when you’re on the bench that you’re concentrating on what’s going on on the pitch and that making sure you know what calls have been called and what’s been happening, what’s played, where holes might be opening up and what line-outs the opposition have been doing and what line-outs they might still have to do.”
The curse of the super sub
The impact sub is an increasingly important role in modern rugby - so much so that Cian Healy was held in reserve for most of the Six Nations until the final game against Scotland. Sean Cronin and Ian Madigan are two other players with the ability to inject pace and x-factor into the Irish team in the second-half of matches.
Henderson’s skillset makes him an excellent impact player at Test level. His strength after contact and the speed of his footwork makes him difficult to stop, while his ball handling ability can be dynamic against tiring defences. His introduction off the bench against Italy during this year’s Six Nations (below) is trademark Henderson and ultimately set-up Tommy O’Donnell’s try. Against a flagging Italian defence, his first real involvement saw him burst into the opposition half and suck-in the extra cover that created the space for O’Donnell to attack.
(Play the video from 1:54:52)
On the basis of last weekend, Schmidt will not have been convinced that Henderson deserves a place in the starting XV. For the moment, his versatility keeps him ahead of the likes of Ryan or Tuohy on the bench but ultimately he could remain an impact player unless he can find a way to bring his game-breaking skills to bear on a more consistent basis.
Looking beyond the O’Connell era (it will have to be done eventually), I would have Ryan and Toner as the second-row partnership for next year’s Six Nations. Ryan offers an aggression that is particularly useful during the opening quarter of matches when both packs are attempting to exert dominance. But also, ask yourself who would you prefer to see being sprung off the bench with 20 minutes to go and points still needed?
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