RUGBY:THE IRISH squad licked their considerable wounds and moved on to a well-timed four-day stop-off in the picture-postcard Queenstown yesterday en route to the third and final Test in Hamilton next Saturday.
Surrounded by the snow-covered mountains overlooking Lake Wanaka, the flight across from Christchurch under glorious blue skies on a cloud-free day had offered spectacular views of Mount Cook and the Southern Alps which run through the southern island like a fishbone.
Alas, along with a few bones of contention from Saturday’s sickening 22-19 defeat, the squad are almost down to the bare bones as well.
Entering the 51st and final week of their season to review, rest, recuperate and refocus on one final effort to beat the All Blacks, Ireland had to do so without Gordon D’Arcy. Ruled out of the third Test with a groin strain, he flew home in readiness for his impending wedding, and though Jamie Heaslip travelled on, a fracture to his right index finger has also ruled out the rock-like number eight.
No-one has played more rugby for Ireland this season than Heaslip, last Saturday’s latest indefatigable and intelligent display being his 50th Test for Ireland and 15th in a row this season.
The expectation is that Peter O’Mahony will slot into the back row, perhaps with Seán O’Brien switching to number eight, with Chris Henry promoted to the bench.
With Paul O’Connell, Tommy Bowe, Stephen Ferris and Luke Fitzgerald ruled out before the tour, this means Ireland will be without half a dozen players from the Lions tour of two years ago, aside from the retired David Wallace, and of course they were missing another Lion, Keith Earls, last Saturday.
There remains a hope Earls might recover from the torn pectoral muscle he suffered in the first Test. But after Brian O’Driscoll’s barnstorming display in his more accustomed outside centre role, if so Earls may return to the wing, with the distinct possibility that Paddy Wallace, who arrives tomorrow, will be pitched straight into the starting line-up.
The All Blacks have their wounds too. Having lost Jerome Kaino from their backrow, his replacement Victor Vito has been sidelined while there must also be a considerable doubt about Kieron Read’s participation in Hamilton given he suffered another head knock which forced him off halfway through last Saturday’s Test. Back up lock Ali Williams has been sidelined for eight weeks after knee surgery.
Steve Hansen had intimated that he would dip into his 30-man squad for the third Test, his last chance to look at a few other options before Argentina are welcomed into the championship in August, though it remains to be seen whether last Saturday’s scare will have forced a rethink.
Hansen was effusive in his praise of Ireland’s performance and admitted it was “a game we probably shouldn’t have won”. But the All Blacks head coach observed: “we beat an Irish side that probably played as good as it could have, and we haven’t played great, but we showed a tremendous amount of character.”
Noting this, Declan Kidney said: “Let’s see what happens. It’s like a game of chess. They’ll look at new areas to come at us so we have to be wise enough. We’ll have to look at areas to go after them and we’ve done a lot of defending the last two weeks so it’s going to be very important to freshen up so that we can look forward to the game in Hamilton.”
Once again though, a referee had been the single most influential individual in the endgame.
But as for the vexed and singular interpretation of the pivotal 76th minute scrum, when Nigel Owens penalised a then dominant Irish scrum for deliberately wheeling after initially earning another straight shove, Kidney understandably bit his tongue.
“It was a tight call. That was what he had to do. It’s gone against us. Not a lot I can say. The reaction? We’re obviously disappointed. We had them in those two scrums and then in that one we had them turned in towards touch.
“They were corralled in there and their scrum went around a bit. Was it 90 degrees? We got a nudge on, but he deemed it to be us wheeling it. Us wheeling it but not holding it up.
“I’m sure it’s an area they will look to improve on next week. Right now that is all we need to concentrate on – getting ourselves right for next week.”
