First half class enough for Ireland

A first-half of pure class contrasted heavily with an uneventful second half as Ireland brought the Autumn internationals to a close as Ireland defeated Argentina 29-9 at the Aviva, Dublin. Captain Brian O'Driscoll admitted during the week that "all previous games (against Argentina) tended not to be things of beauty", but early on it looked as if todays game may have been the exception to the rule.

After the game Ireland coach Declan Kidney told of his concern for O'Driscoll who had gone for an X-ray with a possible crack in his jaw. "If its just a crack he might avoid surgery and a plate," said Kindey afterwards of his captain, who tried to play through the injury before the med said he needed to come off. The win brought Ireland's record to won two, lost two for the series, and looking back Kidney sees the positives of the last month.

"One of our goals in this month was obviously to win ever match - we didn't. We came up short in two so we have to take a serious look at that. Another was to build a squad and we have been doing that. Today was a good sign for us because you can build all you like at training but they need to go out and prove it to themselves that they can win a tough game.

For much of the opening exchanges Argentina were camped inside the Irish 22, but the Irish resolute defense held firm and a lightning break from Gordan D'Arcy, after Ireland stole the ball from the ruck, threatened carved open the Argentine defense, but his kick for the corner gave Argentina the chance to clear to touch.

An impressive passing interchange between Geordan Murphy, Tommy Bowe and Andrew Trimble led to the opening score with Jonathan Sexton kicking a 13th minute penalty, 3-0.

"Ireland played a really good first half and we didn't score in the moments we had to," said Argentine captain Felipe Contepomi afterwards. "There were crucial moments that maybe would have led us to start well the game. We didn't do so I think (the game) was lost there. Ireland broke us a few times and scored a try and its hard when you chase a team nearly 20 points behind."

Following the penalty Argentina drove forward but a Marcelo Bosch drop goal attempt sailed wide and the Argentines couldn't get a score for all their possession. Then came the break for Ireland on 19 minutes, as a period of Irish pressure gave Stephen Ferris the opportunity to glide over in the corner.

When the ball came back from a ruck inside the Argentine 22 under the posts Tommy Bowe drew the tackle before offloading to Jamie Heaslip who in turn found Ferris. After Sexton converted, to make it 10-0, former Leinster man Contepomi missed a penalty as Argentina failed to register a score that would drive Argentina forward.

Another Sexton penalty underneath the posts added to Ireland's lead, 13-0 on 28 minutes, before Contepomi finally put Argentina on the board with a penalty, 13-3. From the restart Trimble managed to claw the ball back from play before O'Driscoll gathered the ball on the Irish side.

Their hard work led to another successfully converted Sexton penalty, 16-3 and as Argentine discipline faltered, Sexton was gifted another chance, which he took, to stretch Ireland's lead further before half-time, 19-3. With the end of the half came the end of a vintage Irish performance and one that Kidney touched on.

"The first half we were good and positive when we had the ball. We put challenges to them - we attacked them on both flanks. When we got into their half we managed to take scores most times when we got into their 22. There was a point early on where they mauled up from the 22 to the goal line. It turned out to be a pivotal point because we managed to stop them," said Kidney after the game.

While neither side got into any rhythm as a rather dull second half unfolded, Contepomi continued where he left off in the first half. He missed another penalty on 47 minutes, but added his second from five attempts, on 57 minutes to close the gap to 19-6.

In a scrappy second half, Ireland got their first score of the half when Sexton split the posts with a 50 metre kick, and Kidney brought on Damien Varley, Tom Court and Denis Leamy to reinforce the forward line. Contepomi clawed Argentina to within 13 points with another penalty but it always felt like Ireland kept some in reserve. Ronan O'Gara and Keith Earls, Devin Toner and Eoin Reddan were all sprung from the bench, as Ireland failed to to live up to their first half performance.

In the dying moments Keith Earls looked like he had given Ireland something to cheer about when he touched down in the corner but the TMO adjudged (wrongly it seemed from replays) that the Munster back knocked on.

But Ireland were not to be denied and when they turned the ball over from the resulting scrum, Eoin Reddan put the ball back to D'Arcy who collected his own chip over the top to score. O'Gara added the conversion and while the players return to their provinces, on the national level, Ireland now enter a very important Six Nations competition before next years World Cup.

Irish undone by All Black class

"Rory Best is going for an operation on his cheekbone on Monday," said Irish Coach Declan Kidney. "Brian (O'Driscol) has gone for an Xray on his shoulder, Rob Kearney and Luke Fitzgerald will have knee scans tomorrow. I wouldn't like to pre-empt any medical opinion - I would just be guessing. And Gordan D'Arcy and Tommy Bowe have tight calves, but we would be hoping they will recover in time (for next week against Argentina)."

It may have taken the arrival of the All Blacks but finally the Aviva got an atmosphere worthy of an international fixture, and despite what the scoreline 38-18 suggests, the Irish players responded heroically as the injury list suggests.

From the first whistle, Ireland and New Zealand played the kind of attacking rugby that was well worth the entrance fee. Dan Carter (on 6, 15 and 29 minutes) and Jonathan Sexton (on 10 and 25 minutes) traded penalties but the Irish defense otherwise held firm.

Their resolute defense was epitomized by the number of injuries to key players noted by Kidney. Gordan D'Arcy, for one, put his body on the line to stop New Zealand captain Richie McCaw and later hooker Hika Elliot from breaking through the Irish defense.

Sexton's restart (following Carter's third penalty) dropped just outside the All Black 22. Rob Kearney touched the ball back on the Irish side and Paddy Wallace dived on the ball to maintain possession. Quick ball from the resulting ruck was capitalised on by the Irish as a flat pass from Jamie Heaslip sent Stephen Ferris clear. The Ulsterman touched down to send Irish fans into wonderland with eight minutes left before the break.

But for all Ireland's good work, errors, which Kidney later put down to "trying too hard" gifted New Zealand an opportunity immediately after the try. A Sexton knock on gave New Zealand a scrum from which Ireland were penalised and Carter closed the margin to within a point with a fourth penalty of the half, 13-12.

When McCaw made his debut 9 years ago against Ireland, the Irish gave away 3 penalties in the 80 minutes, none of which were in their own half. This time, they were far more generous to the All Blacks.

Despite the willingness to concede penalties, the Irish defense held the All Black at bay as wave after wave of attack neared the Irish line. That was until a minute before the break, when Anthony Boric barged his way over the line, with Carter adding the conversion.

The try before half-time left Ireland six behind at 13-19, and while Ireland were down, New Zealand were brutally effective. New Zealand began the second half as they ended the first but a saving tackle from Ferris denied full back Mils Muliaina from stretching the All Black advantage.

But there is a reason why the All Blacks have never lost against Ireland. And for the opening 10 minutes of the second half the Kiwis were breathtakingly efficient. On 45 minutes, Kieran Read went over to cement New Zealand's dominance. Carter added the conversion, and New Zealand never looked like relinquishing their lead, at 26-13.

Keith Earls then replaced the injured Luke Fitzgerald, but as David Wallace knocked on in midfield the All Blacks showed their quality. New Zealand spread the ball wide and Richie McCaw offloaded (what seemed like a forward pass) to Sam Whitelock to go over in the corner. The tempo and guile with which the New Zealand backs attacked showed why they are the best team in world rugby. Carter put the finishing touch to the move with a conversion, to make it 33-13 with just eight minutes gone in the second half.

A breakaway from Jamie Heaslip on 54 minutes had the entire Irish nation willing him towards the line, but the flanker didn't have the legs to beat two covering All Black players to the line.

As Ireland went through phase after phase, they finally got the reward they were looking for, two minutes later. When Rob kearney's pass failed to find Heaslip, the attack appeared dead, but Brian O'Driscol picked up the ball with one hand and brought the Aviva to its feet with a superb try. Kidney later told the media that O'Driscol had gone for an Xray on his shoulder after the game, but played through the injury which he picked up in the first half. Sexton's resulting conversion hit the upright, leaving the score 33-18.

The All Blacks brought on Sonny-Bill Williams to try to inject the same urgency that blew Ireland away in the opening ten minutes of the second half, but the All Blacks seemed to know they were out of sight. With six minutes to go, and as Ireland piled on the pressure, the TMO ruled that substitute Keith Earls was in touch before going over the line.

To reinforce their attacking brilliance, Read went over at the death for his second try of the game in the dying moments. Quick passing across the New Zealand backline, left a tired Ireland chasing shadows and Read with the easiest of chances, putting gloss on a not so comfortable 38-18 win. While the full scale of the Irish defensive effort was disclosed by Kidney, the disappointment was evident on the faces of his players, who spoke to the media afterwards.

Coleman is latest Trapattoni blunder

It has not been a particularly great week for Ireland or TIF. As the International Monetary Fund moved a step closer to becoming the Irish Monetary Fund and TIF found out that 5am does exist, Ireland barely got out of neutral in their final international game of ‘10 against Norway.

Spare a thought for young Seamus Coleman. The 22 year-old full-back come winger has become a key fixture for Everton in the Premiership but sat out Ireland’s midweek defeat. Even a cameraman at the Aviva got in on the action, zooming in on the young Donegal man, as a nation willed Giovanni Trapattoni to bring him on.

As the Aviva’s screens showed a rather cheerless Seamus Coleman on the bench, the blog thought how it would feel to be “the brightest young talent” and called up for a game that “didn’t mean anything” (Kevin Doyle), to sit in the rain for the best part of 90 minutes. Although not a situation that happened often during TIF’s illustrious youth football career, a situation the blog imagines would leave it feeling less than chirpy nonetheless.

While Giovanni Trapattoni’s earnings as Irish manager close in on €6 million, having come close to qualifying for a World Cup (Brian Kerr and Steve Staunton did little worse), TIF sipped black coffee and wondered if Coleman was indeed Ireland’s and football’s version of Chuck Norris.

Trapattoni has time and again stated the importance of his players to be playing regularly for their clubs. Coleman ticks that box, and at the highest level.

Even if Trapattoni has not watched him and other Irish young players in person, as his assistant Marco Tardelli seems to, and ignores comments from David Moyes at Everton, he should have at least seen Coleman on tv. The blog, for one, only has to look at his impact in its fantasy football team to realise he is worthy of a substitute appearance at least.

Yesterday El Trap was none too pleased with criticism he has come under and appeared to suggest the problem lay with the players’ inability to play the Trap way. “I said before that the children from southern Italy or Napoli, they are not smarter but we pay attention to every little detail and situation. And there are many situations that determine a game.”

Given Trapattoni has had over two years with the team, one would hope the players would know what is expected of them. But what exactly the Trap way is is open for discussion. Recent results indicate that playing defensive minded players like Paul Green or Glenn Whelan clearly does not work.

At the same time, by his omission to date of James McCarthy (absent on Wednesday through injury), he does not favour creative midfielders. With his dealings with Andy and Steven Reid as a precedent, it is going to be a long wait for talented Chelsea midfielder Conor Clifford. Currently on a loan spell at League One’s Plymouth Argyle, TIF has watched him in action for Ireland’s U21 side and he has shown his class.

While Giovanni Trapattoni gave balance as the reasoning behind leaving Coleman to enjoy Wednesday’s match from the sidelines, which felt like a bad training game, Erik Huseklepp chatted gleefully to the Norwegian media. The forward, whose 86th minute winner gave Ireland another reason to feel glum, took a minute to tell TIF that he thought Ireland would be better. We agree Erik. We agree!

McCaw discards first Irish win fears

After a Jonah Lomu inspired comeback guided the All Blacks to its 13th victory over Ireland in November 2001, then New Zealand coach John Mitchell commented: “That was a great stepping stone in a lot of the boys’ careers.”

Mitchell’s “boys” (New Zealand had 11 debutants between the first two tests of the 2001 Tour against Ireland A and Ireland) came from 21-7 down to dash Ireland’s hopes of a first win. One of the two debutants that started against Ireland that day was Richie McCaw.

Now as captain, he faces another milestone in his career against Ireland as he, along with Mils Muliaina, will become the most capped All Black players of all time with 93 test caps on Saturday.

“I remember a bit,” said McCaw of his first cap. “I hadn’t played much rugby before going on that Tour. I wanted to make sure and prove that I deserved to be there. It was a pretty awesome experience to run out for the first time in a test match, and at a place like Lansdowne Road was pretty special. So I’ve got pretty good memories of it,” says the man of the match from that day.

The current crop of All Blacks boasts Dan Carter, McCaw and Sonny-Bill Williams, whose debut last incredible performance in his second test against Scotland catapulted him into a legend in the making. But the ‘01 team was far from its distant poorer cousin with the likes of Jonah Lomu, Andrew Mehrtens and Anton Oliver (as captain) pulling the strings.

“I thought geez, this is a horrible way to start test rugby,” as the All Blacks fell 14 points behind back in 2001. “I remember it was the first time I got to play with Jonah (Lomu) and some of those guys – that was pretty special in itself.

“You can stand there in awe or just get on with it. I was pretty nervous, but once you run out on the field you either get into it or freeze up and I did every attempt I didn’t do the latter. I remember being pretty happy at the end that we got away with a win.”

McCaw has thus far repressed any urge to leave New Zealand for the alluring millions of France, and donning the All Black jersey is still something he holds dear.

“It’s a little bit different,” he says of the feelings now, in comparison to when he first wore the All Black jersey. “But I still love the contest and love the fact you are playing for the All Blacks. If that ever goes, then it is probably time to do something else. Instead of worrying about your own job you are making sure the whole team does well.

“Those are probably the nerves you have at times. I still make sure not to take for granted the fact that I am playing for the All Blacks because one day that will be gone and you don’t just want to appreciate it then.”

Ireland conceded three penalties in McCaw’s first 80 minutes of international rugby – none of which were in their own half. That same discipline will be required come Saturday evening, as Ireland needing its big players to step up to the challenge.

“I think when we look at the Irish team, there are a lot of guys that have been through those periods (winning a Grand Slam in ‘09 and Triple Crowns in ‘04, ‘06, ‘07 and ‘09) and they are still playing good rugby – no doubt. Especially those guys in the backs, O’Gara, D’Arcy and O’Driscol – they have played a lot of rugby and they are pretty classy.

“In the second half when we played in New Zealand in June, we started to give them a bit of an easy ride and they certainly made us pay for it. Preparing for this week we realised that if we do that again we are going to be in trouble.”

McCaw rejected any comments that the era of Ireland’s so-called ‘Golden Generation’ has come to an end, as he prepares to take on the Irish. After beating England, Jimmy Cowan stated the All Blacks had to move up a gear.

A week later they gave Scotland a humbling in the form of a record defeat. “We have to make sure we are better than last week,” says McCaw, as he attempts to maintain the All Blacks unbeaten record (22 wins, 1 draw and 0 defeats) against Ireland.

The first All Black captain to lose to Ireland is not an accolade the two-time IRB World Player of the Year wishes to add to his collection. “Thanks for bringing that up,” he says. “I don’t want to be (the first captain to lose). End of story.”