OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK
There is no doubt in my mind that, after their landmark series win over the All Blacks in New Zealand, Ireland will continue on an upward trajectory from now until the World Cup.
The only factor that could affect it is if they have an unexpectedly large number of experienced players all leaving the international game at the same time.
Johnny Sexton is their No.10, captain, and talisman, and the relationship he built with Joe Schmidt, Andy Farrell's predecessor as coach, meant that they worked on the same wavelength so much that he could take the tactical plan onto the field and implement it.
However, your best player is not in the team because of how he talks, but because of how he plays and, despite being 37, Sexton showed in New Zealand just how effective and influential he still is at putting a tactical plan into practice.
Sexton's determination and will has put him in a good place to make it through to the 2023 World Cup but, in any case, Ireland have Joey Carbery as fly-half understudy. Carbery is a very good player, and he should be able to take over when the time comes, just as Sexton did from Ronan O'Gara.
The impressive thing about the Irish side is Sexton is not the only player leading the way. Tight-head Tadhg Furlong has also become a hugely influential figure, not just as a scrummager, but also for his footwork and carrying ability. Peter O'Mahony is another veteran who continues to make a big impact, especially in the loose, and you could see from his emotion after the third Test just how much it meant to him.
Some purists might say that this was not the best New Zealand team, and when you ask how many would unarguably get into a World XV right now, the answer is very few.
This is not the 2011 and 2015 double-World Cup winning All Blacks featuring the likes of Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Ma'a Nonu, Ben Smith, Kieran Reid, or a younger Brodie Retallick.
They do not possess that talent at the moment – but it should not detract from an amazing achievement by some brilliant Irish players.
There were so many exceptional performances over the series, and Josh van der Flier led the way. Right now he must be the best openside in the world, and his fellow back rower Caelan Doris and locks James Ryan and Tadhg Beirne were similarly impressive.
If Furlong deserves the plaudits, then so do hooker Dan Sheehan and loose-head Andrew Porter – whose two tries made the difference in the second Test – for outplaying the New Zealand front row.
Ireland have also found a diamond in their Kiwi scrum-half import Jamison Gibson-Park, and have three really good centres in Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose. In the back three Mac Hansen is a great addition, fullback Hugo Keenan is an outstanding footballer, and James Lowe, while still susceptible to making mistakes, played well.
It was a phenomenal result, and a rich reward for performing so strongly under pressure. Sure, New Zealand went down to 14 men in the second Test in Dunedin after Angus Ta'avao's 30th minute head strike on Ringrose, but the Irish deserved their win to level the series before they took the decider 32-22 in Wellington with both teams keeping 15 players on the field.
Farrell has moved Ireland along from where they were when he took over from Schmidt at the end of 2019. Schmidt is an exceptional coach when it comes to putting in structures, but Farrell seems to have freed the Irish players from some of the processes and constraints that came with it, and you get the feeling they have been released to play more instinctively.
One of the other great things for the Irish boys is that they are going to get some proper rest between now and the new season – unlike some of their rivals. In the past they have been unfortunate with injuries, such as when Paul O'Connell pulled his hamstring before the 2015 quarter-final against Argentina.
However, Farrell also knows all about the tendency of the Irish to drop-off in terms of intensity when they get to World Cups, because he saw it at first hand in the 2019 quarter-final hammering by New Zealand. After that tournament there was a feeling among Irish players that they were over-trained and overcooked when it came to the knock-out stage — and that's why it won't happen this time.
Farrell's experience, and the experience of senior players from 2019, means that they will know that they need to be hungry, not knackered.
The Irish showed on the New Zealand tour that they are intelligent players, and that is why they should be able to keep it going until the 2023 World Cup. There was a bit of ebb-and-flow in the third Test, but Ireland showed they are a smart team by the way they took their chances, and in the end they were too good for the All Blacks.
The try that brought a smile to my face was Henshaw's touchdown because of the smoke-and-mirrors, the great timing and passing, and the accuracy of the execution. It was absolutely sublime.
For the other home unions it is more a case of being a work in progress. If Eddie Jones has all England's best players available in the autumn then maybe eight of those who played in Australia will be in the starting 15. So, it should be competitive for places – but, unlike Ireland, he doesn't have a settled team with a deep bank of experience.
England showed grit and won a series against the Wallabies despite being inconsistent, and flitting between poor and good, whereas Ireland won the series of their lives.
Wales showed great spirit in South Africa, and could easily have won the first Test. They put that right when they won the second Test, but it was pretty stodgy rugby, and in the third Test you could not see how they would find a way to cut loose against a South African defence that gave them no breathing space. It leaves Wales still in search of something magical.
Scotland left a few players back home, but they will still be bitterly disappointed to give away such a big lead to Argentina in the final Test. It was an opportunity missed, and they are still a side that is waiting for it to click. They have proved they have got the players to do it, if they can find the right mental switch – as they have shown with victories over England and France in the last two seasons.
