November Review

So as November 2016 draws to a close for both our men’s and women’s teams, what a contrasting 4 weeks it has been for each team with the Women’s team playing a historic 3 match Series at the UCD Bowl where England, Canada and New Zealand were the visitors to the venue that will host these 4 teams in next year’s World Cup.

Unfortunately for Tom Tierney and his squad it won’t be remembered as a very successful Series because they were defeated by the three sides with Canada and New Zealand putting Ireland to the sword beating them comfortably each time Canada winning 48-7 and New Zealand winning 38-3.

These two heavy defeats coupled with the more modest defeat to England has presented Tom Tierney and his coaches with a number of issues before the 2017 Six Nations and with a World Cup on home soil it is hugely important for both coaches and squad that they get the chance to iron out the issues that have arisen. A lack of cohesion in attack was a real problem and poor defending was a constant problem.

All three teams targeted the 10-12 axis of Sene Naoupu and Nora Stapleton and had varying degrees of success with Canada and New Zealand really punishing poor Irish defending on many occasions. On  the flip side , a few Irish players put in strong performances over the three games with Claire Molloy , Paula Fitzpatrick and Mairead Coyne in particular coming to the fore and really showing why they are some of our key players heading into a tough 2017.

Many players have now been capped and one hopes that the sobering results of the past three weeks can be learned from and Ireland rediscover something close to the form that saw them make the 3^rd place World Cup play off at the 2014 World Cup.

Moving to the men’s team who played 4 games this November beginning with that historic win over New Zealand in the novel setting of Soldier Field in Chicago, 111 years of heartbreak was clinically put to bed with a fantastic performance that saw Ireland score 5 tries and beat New Zealand by 40 points to 29 and also playing the type of rugby that The All Blacks are famed for. It was so special to watch. Then onto Canada where players like Gary Ringrose, James Tracey and Luke Mc Grath got the opportunity to put their hand up for continued selection in future Joe Schmidt squads.

Ireland then played New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in the 2^nd Test between the two sides with The All Blacks winning a tough match 21-9. Finally it was Australia in the final Test match of the year with Australia looking to continue their quest for a Tour Grand Slam of wins last achieved in 1984. This game was absolutely crucial as a marker of how far Ireland have come since defeat to Argentina in Cardiff in October 2015.

The three wins gained in November have given Ireland a real confidence boost heading into the 2017 Six Nations. Beating the so called “Big Three” in the past 6 months has also shown how far the team has come. The work done by Andy Farrell as defence coach has been a massive plus since he joined up in June. The discipline shown by Ireland has been another huge step forward.

Joe Schmidt has always said the team that gives away the fewest penalties in a game will win and this theory has certainly been in practice over the past 4 weeks. It was a special month for all involved in Irish rugby with a win over the much vaunted All Blacks finally crossed off the “To Do List” The possibilities are now endless for Joe Schmidt and he ever improving squad.

2017 will be a big year for both the men’s team and women’s team with the women facing a home World Cup and the men facing a Six Nations where they have a real shot at glory with a Championship or even a Grand Slam on offer…..

By

Cian Mc Gibney

28/11/2016

Ireland Vs New Zealand Women

Ireland finished there November Test Series with a 38-8 defeat against New Zealand. Combine that with defeats to England and Canada. Ireland have tested out some new players in a bid to try and build a squad capable of competing at next year’s World Cup in Ireland.

Today’s game saw the return of a number of key players  with Niamh Briggs , Marie Louise Reilly and Claire Molloy among the players to come back into the first XV after the record defeat to Canada last week. Tom Tierney will realise his charges are still a bit away from being the finished article.

 They have gone 0 from 3 in this Test Series but if they learn the lessons of the past three weeks, this tough period will not have been in vain. Looking to the more positive points players like Mairead Coyne, Claire Molloy and Paula Fitzpatrick have led from the front during this Series.

Looking at this afternoon’s game, New Zealand only led 5-3 at the break and it could have been much better for Ireland had Nora Stapleton landed a second penalty effort but she was unsuccessful and New Zealand who had spent most of a very fractured 1^st half on the front foot and it also saw either side give away a number of penalties.

New Zealand to their credit stuck to the game plan that saw them get the ball wide at every opportunity and into the hands of the dangerous pair Selica Winata and Portia Woodman, this tactic saw the pair contribute 5 tries between them, Woodman scoring a hat trick from outside centre.

This New Zealand side never took the foot off the gas when they got a sniff of an opportunity. Ireland for their part defended well in the opening 40 minutes but just could not live with the pace a precision of the Black Fern attack throughout a frantic 2^nd 40 that saw them ramp up the pressure and totally dominate Ireland.

Looking to next season’s Six Nations, Tom Tierney will know he needs to get his team firing and taking advantage of the chances they create. The Set Piece was one facet of Ireland’s play that worked really well and it can be a key corner stone of the Irish recovery.

Here’s hoping that the harsh lessons of the past three weeks can be learned from and they can get the recovery going before the 2017 Six Nations. Only time will tell….

By

Cian Mc Gibney

27/11/2016

Ireland Vs Canada

So Ireland were convincingly beaten by Canada in The UCD Bowl where Ireland made a number of changes to the XV that had faced England the previous week with Mary Healy and Nikki Caughey partnered at half back. Canada were beaten by England at the 2014 World Cup Final in Paris.

 Canada of course have been doing extremely well on the 7s circuit and with a World Cup on Irish soil in August 2017 they certainly put down a marker to each team that will play in that tournament. The Canadians had a very strong pack that carried ball right into the heart of the Irish defence and time and again made major strides forward round the fringes with skipper Kelly Russell and second rowers Kayla Mack and Laytoya Blackwood carrying hard and causing Ireland all sorts of trouble in defence.

When Ireland got the ball and were able to put a cohesive attack together they looked extremely dangerous with Alison Miller and Sene Naoupu to the fore. Canada managed to put 48 points past Ireland with a very sharp attack and a strong set piece. Full Back Julieanne Zussman contributed two tries along with the star of the 2014 World Cup Magali Harvey scoring a good try aswell.

Canada showed the new caps in the Irish team what the step up to Test match rugby will be like and for the most part, Ireland struggled to match Canada’s aggression at the breakdown and also the all-round speed with which Canada got the ball wide to a very impressive back division.

With the Black Ferns next up for Ireland, Tom Tierney will have to work extremely hard to try and get Ireland focused for a huge final Test match before the 6 Nations next year. Tierney has some big choices to make does he restore the heavy hitters to the first XV or does he stick with some of the same 23 that faced Canada and give them the chance to atone for a hugely disappointing performance against The Black Ferns who will come here after a game against England.

With a home World Cup on the horizon, Ireland will need to finish this November Test Series with a strong performance and having beaten New Zealand that last time these two sides met , they will know what is required to get the desired result.

They were only touched off by England, they were ruthlessly dispatched by Canada and now they have one final chance to register a win to end the 2016 season on a high note.

There have been terrific crowds in UCD over the past 2 weeks and I encourage everyone who can to get out and support the Women’s team this Sunday at 2pm.

By

Cian Mc Gibney

21/11/2016

Ireland vs England

So England women backed up the 10-5 win over France during the week with another tight victory over Ireland winning with a late converted try with Izzy Noel Smith crashing over with Katy Mc Lean kicking the conversation to give England the win.

From an Ireland point of view, it was defiantly a case of what could have been due to the fast start that they made to the game with the likes of Nora Stapleton , Mairead Coyne and Sene Naoupu to the fore in both defence and attack. Although they were both scoreless after 25 minutes , Rocky Clarke the veteran prop on the occasion of her 115^th cap was on hand to get the scoreboard ticking over and England led 5-0 although they missed the chance to add the extra two points.

It stayed 5-0 to England with Ireland really trying to pressure the England defence with little success until Nora Stapleton managed to bag her team a penalty and with that Ireland went in 5-3 down at the break.

In the 2^nd half , Ireland were handed the perfect start when the impressive Nora Stapleton crossed the try line to give Ireland an 10-5 lead with the extra points also added. This was the way it remained until the 78^th minute when Poppy Clell  manged to burrow her way in to get England back on level terms with replacement out half Katy Mc Lean scoring the winning points with a conversation from wide on the right touch line.

From an Irish point of view , they will know they will need to quicken up the speed of ball that is going out to the backline if they are to cause either Canada or New Zealand problems. Stand out performers for Ireland were Nora Stapleton, Claire Molloy , Sene Naoupu with honourable mention going to  Ailis Egan and Maz Reilly who tried to get Ireland the go forward ball required to try and trouble a water tight England defence. This defence was central to England managing to hold Ireland at bay in the dyeing minutes of the contest.

Looking to the next two weeks , Ireland will know they let England back into this contest and will realise they need to find a way to kill teams off. In saying all of this when you are without two star performers in Niamh Briggs and Sophie Spence you are going to be lacking tactical nouse but there replacements Mairead Coyne and Orla Fitzsimons were very capable and have shown that it’s not just two world class operators Ireland have , they have many with the names of Coyne and Fitzsimons jumping to the head of that queue.

There was a crowd of over 1,300 packed into the UCD Bowl and this made for a very special atmosphere. Looking to August 2017 when the World Cup Pool stages will commence in UCD with the knockout phase set for Belfast , the crowd of over 1,300 made themselves heard and that support will be required over the next two weeks and into next year’s Six Nations before the World Cup rolls round.

Today may not have been Ireland’s day but they now have a platform to build from for the rest of November into the rest of the campaign.

By

Cian Mc Gibney

13/11/2017

Munster Vs New Zealand Maori

So there was another special night in Thomond Park when 23 Munster players matched what the team of 1978 did and defeated The Maori All Blacks by 27-14 on a wet, damp night in Limerick. Over the past few weeks since the untimely passing of Anthony Foley Munster have been on a quest to honour his memory and in the last three games against Glasgow, The Ospreys and The Maori All Blacks we have seen the old Munster where good solid forward play has led the way and has laid the foundations for three huge victories that has now seen the feel good factor to Munster Rugby.

 It has been a while in coming but when it arrived it was like a tidal wave and all three teams that have faced Munster since Anthony Foley passed away have felt the full force of the entire province both on the field and in the stands where the old sparkle has returned and the crowd is getting stuck into each visiting team like their lives depended on it. That’s the way it was and that’s the way it should be into the future…….

Looking at the game as a whole Munster played the perfect game and utilised a revitalised forward pack that didn’t take a backward step with guys like Conor Oliver, Robin Copeland and Tommy O Donnell leading the charge and they were ably assisted by a back three who played like men processed.

 I have criticised Munster for not playing with passion but they have shut me up in the past month where there game plan has revolved around hunger, passion and desire in defence in particular and that has led to them scoring many tries and turning up the pressure on their opponents and this in turn has lifted the crowd to new levels.

The Maori for their part had no real answer to the power and precision of the Munster attack and people will point to the weather and say if it had been a dry evening they would have caused Munster real trouble in attack but lest we forget down in New Zealand they have the same type of wet weather we have up here and play rugby in that weather for a good portion of the year.

 You just can’t beat hunger, desire and passion and those key ingredients have been lacking at vital moments but let’s just hope that the past few weeks can be the start of something truly special in both the Munster camp.

On a personal note the last 6 days have picked me off the canvass after probably the toughest two months of my 26 years on this earth. I again found solace in sport and the win last Saturday made me smile and kept me smiling and then to watch Munster create another piece of history was so special so again thank you to the 23 men who took to the field for Munster last night, your win will keep me smiling for another while yet so Thank You……

I have said it many times in recent days, sport brings you to special places and also breaks your heart but mostly in my experience it has shown me if you stick at something you’ll always get your just rewards. Well done again Munster and Thanks too to The Maori All Blacks for their touching tribute to Anthony Foley just before they did the Haka…..

By

Cian Mc Gibney

11/12/2016