1) why I said (with utter simplification) it wasn’t a bad game
Because we did not, we most of the time do not, crumble down at home in the Sportsground.
We’re not Zebre, Dragons or… Connacht away (vs Scarlets and Edinburgh last year, Leinster in the Aviva, Brive last 35 min, Ulster in September, Bulls…)
There, even on 3-19 we did complete our tackles, sometimes with real involvement, sometimes losing too much in contact, but with a high success-rate overall
BUT it’s still not good enough at all being slightly better then Zebrre/Dragons, even not good enough in defence (indiscipline+mauls+unable to get possession = defeats)
2) what’s wrong
Again I do think the key is lacking power
Disallowed Prendergast try is symptomatic illustration. Dooley was offside because forwards are ill-at-ease about scoring from close range, don’t know where to position themselves. It’s absolutely un-natural/painstaking.
Right before this action, you had Dooley going for it = rolled-back, Butler going for it = rolled-back, Heffernan going for it = rolled-back.
Instead of every forwards concentrated in 1m² and waiting for years to use the ball, a technically pure n°8 helps out : Boyle taking a backward step playing as a « 2nd n°12 » was massive vs Treviso. And n°12, Daly or Aki (or Hawkshaw now), getting closer to the pack to add carrying abilities, is necessary too.
Though, you’ve to note the fact Murray+Dowling are completely unable to add any power, they do have other real qualities (mobility), but both are 110 kg and let’s face it, they are matchstick compared to any modern prominent locks (Ryan 121 kg, Skelton 130 kg, Richie Arnold 127 kg, Etzebeth 123 kg, J.Gray 122 kg).
Sorry to say that too, Josh Murphy is not bad but not good enough either. No real carrying and just « falling on » opposite player as a tackling technique
Yes Joe Joyce is very much needed.
It’s also worrying McCoy still being the one doing the basics right (vs Brive and Ulster) = take the ball (no knock-ons) and gain the few 3, 4 meters. Illo/Aungier did not leapfrog him clearly for now.
Dooley decent player but not bringing more than Buckley as we both hoped for initally..
Complete unabilities to bring real threat in rucks too, Aki being the one who turned 1 ball over shows how weak our pack is in this area (Delahunt maybe the only staying afloat). No Beirne at all.
Oliver, Butler invisible, SHL trying to be aggressive but out-powered
So no possession regained, no relief, more pens conceeded in the end, even if we tackle well
Not better in our own rucks, there was a ridiculous moment yesterday when litteraly nobody came to protect our ball for 10 seconds, Ulster were hesitating to go for it as it was unbelievable...
3) Then, as we miss power, as a consequence, backs are under presure
The paradoxe is our backs are very good in contact, gaining ground often. But it’s a side effect. They « changed » their gamestyle, they are now unable :
- to eat gaps,
- to create overlaps
- to side-step their opponent, and any kind of sparks
- to switch position, be imaginative in their move
- to get the right choice, passing, kicking, because they have no time to do so
With the noticeable exception of Mack Hansen, on all these points
Centres, Farrell as a symbol, are pure illustration of this. He (Bundee too) is under so much defensive aggression he lost his magic and developped better abilities in contact…
I hate criticsm toward Blade, he brings individual threat close to the ruck and is (was yesterday again) a decisive defender.
But TBF yeah, he’s slower than Marms, and it gets the overall « forwards not physical enough-backs under pressure » problem-chain even worse
4) we have a kicking liabily
To the posts obviously (last night 1st try conversion was the main « rather easy » costly one).
But not only :
- there aren’t a SINGLE game when there’s no unforgivable missed kick to touch :
Carty pens not finding touch, both TOH and Carty both going straight to touch from outside our 22 in open play yesterday (costing 50m each), kicks to dead-ball in other games, very few 50/22 from us...
- easy kicks to grab for opposite back-3
- outplayed in terms of kicking-lenght every time (costing us a hell of a lot of ground if you look closely to those ping-pong kick phases) .
- completely uneffecient up-and-under (from our full-back, or SH, what a difference with Cooney’s for example)
- Porch, TOH, lose those battles and Byrne, even worse for Kilgallen from what I saw in warn-up in Brive, are even barely able to kick at all
5) Setpieces are good but not decisive
Our scrum is stable. Slightly domiant. But clearly not enough to make it count/get more than 2 pens and no yellow per match for the effort. We won’t win games from this only.
+Prendergast has to learn as 8, he ruined every potential attacking phases by being unable to get the ball out. Emergency injury cover is only emergency cover (for now…)
Lineout is the same. Good but not decisive. We’re not confident enough to dare jumping and stealing 5m from our line. We should, as we’re outpowered in mauls (though a bit less than last saeson).
+ we’re still absolutely fragile in game-changing/game defining moments. Around the hour mark yesterday (when Bealham came back on for McCoy blood injury), we got a pen, back in their 40m, then missed the lineout, and 30 seconds later Ulster were at the initial point, on our 22 in possession..
