Steve Hansen at his most animated is deadpan, so when he called Ireland the best team in the world after they had beaten New Zealand, who remained at the top of the rankings, he was hard to scrutinise. Was he paying ritual homage to be seen to be magnanimous in defeat or did he, teeth ground together, really mean it?
There was a suspicion he was playing mind games less than a year in advance of the World Cup final but after a decade in which his side has been pre-eminent he is out of practice. If, as coaches and players like to say, you are only as good as your last game, Hansen was playing it straight.
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Take a step back and there was no argument. When the final whistle went in Dublin last Saturday, Ireland’s victory meant they had beaten every one of the other tier-one nations in the last year and one week: South Africa and Argentina last autumn, a 2018 Six Nations grand slam, a series victory in Australia in the summer and the Pumas again before a second triumph in three matches over the All Blacks.
To put that into context, Wales have in 2018 recorded victories over Australia and South Africa in the same year for the first time. The last European team to achieve a similar clean sweep was England at the start of the decade: they defeated Argentina (yet to achieve tier-one status) in the summer of 2002, beat New Zealand, Australia and South Africa the following autumn, repeated the feat against the same trio the following year after winning the Six Nations before beating the Wallabies for a third time in the World Cup final.
Last Saturday marked a tactical triumph for Ireland’s coach, Joe Schmidt, a contender to succeed Hansen after next year’s World Cup. He will discuss his future after the completion of the autumn series this weekend: if he returns to his native New Zealand, Ireland’s defence coach Andy Farrell would be one of the candidates to succeed him.
Farrell was feted after Ireland became the first nation to prevent New Zealand from scoring a try since France in 1995 but at the start of the year Schmidt was forced to defend him after Ireland conceded three tries to Italy and Wales. “I have worked with a whole lot of people and Andy Farrell is world class,” said Schmidt at the time. “He has the confidence of the group because they can see the system works.”
How it did in Dublin where Ireland played with a relentless rage for 80 minutes. Apart from Kieran Read’s fumble following a chargedown and Peter O’Mahony securing Beauden Barrett’s chip for Ben Smith, New Zealand looked lost, ushered down cul-de-sacs, and it was Schmidt who came up with the winning try.
Jacob Stockdale’s chip and chase came after a lineout when Ireland went open before switching direction. The previous month against Australia in Japan, Barrett had scored from a scrum after adopting the same ploy. He had space in front of him after appearing on the blindside wing so was able to keep the ball in hand, but otherwise it was an identikit move: New Zealand were beaten at their own game, imitation making them fluttery.
After England’s laboured victory over Japan there were calls for Farrell to be re-hired after the World Cup but in Ireland he is working in a country where the professional game works to the benefit of the national side. Players are centrally controlled, their provincial appearances rationed. While there is an agreement over the management of elite players between Twickenham and the Premiership clubs, it is questionable whether it provides value for money and it had to be the reason why the governing body cravenly capitulated to the clubs over the length of the season from 2019-20, even though it meant squeezing the Lions.
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How many times in the last three years has Eddie Jones replied to a question about the way rugby is played, or refereed, in the Premiership, with: “It is not my responsibility, mate”? Schmidt is in a different position, and while Farrell is English, he knows from experience that there are times there when you are working against the system.
Ireland’s defence against New Zealand was remarkable in that they stayed square for the whole match, no invitations to attack outside shoulders. They resembled a club side, which is effectively what they are. Wales are coming to resemble that after adopting a policy of co-operation with the four regions there, similarly Scotland.
The rise of the Celts has reduced the number of blowouts in Test matches. This month has been notable for the closeness of a number of the fixtures. The first six weeks of the club season in England and the PRO14 were notable for some Super Rugby scorelines. They emphasised the growing gap between club and international rugby, one that is bridged by Europe where the low-scoring matches between Glasgow and Saracens, Exeter and Munster and the Scarlets and Racing 92 in the first round of the Champions Cup were a pointer to what was to come this month.
Next year’s World Cup promises to be the first that is at the very least an equal contest between the two hemispheres. New Zealand remain the favourites, even if their Plan B is in exile in Europe, but have their clothes been borrowed or stolen? England are the only Six Nations team to have won the tournament: Ireland are nearing where Martin Johnson’s team were in 2003. Now the pressure starts.
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