Bernard Jackman predicts ‘shake up’ after pinpointing where Ireland are ‘very poor’ compared to England and France
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell and an inset of Bernard Jackman.
Following Ireland’s Six Nations defeat to France at the Stade de France, former hooker Bernard Jackman has identified where Andy Farrell’s team is ‘very poor’ compared to England and Les Bleus.
Many pundits pointed to the Irish’s perceived lack of line speed on defence as part of the reason the team shipped five tries on Thursday evening, a laughable excuse in Jackman’s opinion.
Ireland’s naivety versus France
Instead, he pointed to the naivety of the team, singling out Matthieu Jalibert’s try as an example of that as Tommy O’Brien and Jamison Gibson-Park were the only defenders on the blindside, defending 17 metres of space.
“They [France] are coached since they are in mini rugby to run at space and keep the ball alive,” Jackman wrote in the Irish Independent.
“A ruck or a traditional shape is black and white and easy to defend. What we faced was speed, power, footwork, ball skills and a vision that we couldn’t handle.
“Structurally, off set-piece we also made some naive decisions that were surprising. The pre-scrum positioning of our defenders for the Jalibert try was crazy.
“To only have O’Brien and Gibson-Park positioned on the blindside with 17 metres of space and a scrum that couldn’t control the angle was always going to be punished.”
The former hooker was on commentary duty on Friday evening as Ireland XV tackled England A in Limerick. The second Irish outfit didn’t fare any better than Farrell’s squad as they shipped eight tries in a 14-52 defeat.
Jackman rued the fact that Ireland are still ‘incredibly reliant on the Leinster Pathway’, pointing out that 13 of the 14 forwards that featured against France, with the exception of Finlay Bealham, came through that system.
Don’t compare to England or France
On the evidence of last week’s match, he concludes that the Irish pipeline of talent simply doesn’t compare to that of England or France.
“Andy Farrell didn’t try and make excuses post-match, saying you make your own luck and that we played with a lack of intent,” he wrote.
“He has been incredibly loyal to players but Friday’s match showed that compared to England and France our depth is very poor at the minute.
“We haven’t been able to use the golden generations we had to ensure a consistent supply line of talent and now we are scratching our heads. The coaches can only work with what they have. Our proven players are off-form and the young ones aren’t obviously ready.”
Ireland next host Italy at the Aviva Stadium with the Azzurri arriving in Dublin off the back of a shock victory over Scotland in Rome. Despite the threat that Gonzalo Quesada’s side poses, Jackman still believes it’s an opportunity for Farrell to test the depth of the player pool.
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“Italy, up next at home, is as good an opportunity as you could wish for to build a bit of momentum. I expect a shake up with some of the bench being rewarded for their endeavours in Paris and probably Edwin Edogbo coming in for his first cap,” he continued.
“Farrell is a super coach, probably one of the best we ever had, but this is his great challenge yet.”
