Ireland will descend on London in good spirits, having beaten Wales with their new system beginning to be more fruitful. Momentum is key in a tournament like the Six Nations, and having started with 2 wins they can rightfully feel a little bit more confident. As well as this, we are beginning to see trends in their game plan. Wales on the other hand, looked at points disjointed (mainly in defence) in a way I, having lived only through the Gatland era, have only seen sporadically. The attack was flowing well, but often they were their own worst enemies, unable to exert major pressure on Ireland starting 44 of 56 attacks in their own half, 20 in their Own 22. When Ireland turned the screw they broke Wales. Not to say Wales were outclassed enough to deserve nothing from the game.
Now with the context of the game set, and my incredibly brief summary written, it’s time to delve into how Ireland exploited this defence. By examining Larmours try we see a pattern develop. But it begins 5 or so minutes earlier, with an Ireland penalty in their own half.
Having kicked to touch Ireland set a 4 man line out. Conor Murray sits close to the 5m channel meaning that he can come running onto the ball off the top. Wales, in response, have Tomos Williams sat in the 5m Channel and Ken Owens at tail gunner. Ireland then play a simple crash ball with Aki playing straight from 9 allowing extra speed, as they don’t have to use an extra pair of hands which could slow down the attack.
At the following ruck CJ Stander is immediately there to cover the ball. Stander also then pins in Justin Tipuric, who plays a key role in the welsh defence. Wales however have defended the crash ball well, Biggar the target of the Aki has been helped well by Tipuric and can be seen realigning while the Welsh defence has immediately set up with Owens at guards allowing a smooth transition, from Lineout defense to phase play.
Wales then defended well again in the outside channels. The midfield partnership combines well to shut off Irish options, however despite a good read by the Tompkins he is dismissed too easily and Faletau has to tidy up and put Henshaw to the floor. This forces Wales’ already tighter line to focus on the ball. If you look at the wide shots, you’ll see Wales have already left an overlap, which whilst well defended shows why Ireland found ground later.
Then immediately following finding the 15m channel, Ireland pivot and crash using a pod of 3 to try and tighten the Wales defence. With a strong tackle Alun Wyn Jones and Jake Ball put the runner to ground, but Ireland have now involved all bar one of the Welsh loose 5 (4,5,6,7,8) with only Wainwright not making a tackle. This was a trend throughout with a high amount of carries aimed down the loose 5s main channels. The pass here from Murray allows Ireland to attack the wider defenders, and crucially allows them momentum meaning the carry forces Wales backward.
Then Ireland spin the ball a little wider with Aki yet again forcing a tackle from Biggar. This time aided by Wyn Jones, Biggar loses the collision and Ireland have a good platform set.
Now having let the play develop Ireland have played 2 complete sequences and have hit phase 6. Yet again having reached the 15m the Irish use a pod of 3 forwards. Cian Healy this time hits receives the ball from Murray, but much like he did against Scotland turns and plays to a player on the loop. Henshaw then crashes and wins the collision. The dominance in the collision and subsequent ground comes from the system Ireland are using. By playing with a 1-3-2-2, as Brett Igoe pointed out, they can use the pod to fix welsh players, while using faster attackers on subsequent phases. On this occasion the ball doesn’t go wide instead the 2 formed just to the right of the pod (see below) form the clearing committee for the ruck.
The beauty of this structure, is Ireland’s ability to offer multiple options whilst also speading these options right across the park. As we’ve seen they play the ball out the back of this 3 man pod. However, this has forced a slight defensive error from Wales, as Tipuric circled in red has jumped from the line early, in a similar fashion to Wales’ scrum halves.
This early jump from Tipuric enables Ireland to find the shoulder of the openside and crucially force a weak tackle in the channel between Tipuric and Wyn Jones, the welsh loosehead. By forcing the weak tackle it means that Ireland are immediately on the front foot and can spread the ball wider.
The ball is then spread wide from the follow on ruck, with Ireland having offloaded and got Wales moving backward. This has 2 crucial parts in how Ireland can find the width so effectively. Firstly they don’t waste time hitting every man in the line. Instead Murray floats a tempting pass across Ryan and onto stockdale carving a wider line. This forces North to miss the ball and be out paced on the outside. Secondly, Ireland have stacked options with their flowing structure. Josh Van der Flier, (Circled in Yellow above), adorned in a red scrum hat has held the width. This means Biggar is having to defend a 3 on 1 in the wide channels. Whilst they do lose the ball, they then have a wider defence, meaning they then resteal the ball and win the penalty.
Sadly, this lovely bit of phase play doesn’t lead directly to a try even from the subsequent the lineout. As wales are able to envelope a maul and win a scrum. Instead we have to wait till the lineout following the Welsh exit.
The poor kick from Biggar, allows Ireland to start an attack in the Welsh 22. This time a bit further out but still in the strike zone which maintains pressure on the welsh line.
Having previously used a maul to start in the Welsh 22, again Ireland creat a swarm around the jumper, which drags the welsh forwards together. This is especially clear as both Faletau and Dillon Lewis angle their shoulders inwards. With Ken Owens, et again defending from the tail also gazing slightly towards the mass of bodies. From this situation, Herring is able to collect a sneaky ball from Van der Flier and combine with Aki to find the hinge point of the lineout (the place between the original lineout defense and the offside line for people not involved). Again Tipuric is forced to make a tackle positioned inside biggar to protect the Fly Half.
This move has many moving parts, which help to generate a stable source of possession in the Welsh 22. Stockdale, having been positioned at the front of the lineout loops round and helps drive through the ruck and provide ball for the forwards. Following a set plan, ireland the begin a series of carries focussing on the detail to develop momentum.
Ireland work with multiple carriers, hitting the edge of defenders and forcing double tackles. The welsh defence also begins to struggle, with tacklers often pinned under bodies. In the example above, O’Mahony has pinned Dillon Lewis on the floor with Jake Ball still getting up from his previous excursions. This means that Wales are left shorter on the openside, contributing to a lack of width in defence, with Josh Adams like North in the previous version stuck before the 15m Line.
Having changed direction in the shadow of the posts, Ireland have had 3 key impacts. The welsh backrow, normally spread across the pitch have been forced to help close to the tryline. They also have kept opponents pinned down with strong latched carries. This has the final and key effect on the guard defenders. The welsh fringe, have eyes only for the ball. Jake Ball and Wyn Jones are gazing inward while Wainwright acrobatically regains his feet ready to try and cover the threat that is imminent.
This threat is realised by the Irish, who are able to exploit it through Larmour and bundle over. As you can see though, Wales lack any real width. Tompkins is in at the third guard with Wainwright only gaining his feet as Murray takes his passing stride. The pass from murray is supreme and finds the edge of an inwardly glancing Tompkins. Tompkins then makes a slight second mistake coming from a positive action. As Wainwright arrives inside him Tompkins points out the threat of Sexton running an inside arc on Larmour. This while good communication and incredibly positive to see has an effect on Tompkins next action.
He over trust the inside man. Whilst in rugby it is common place to trust your inside man and enable you to push, Tompkins does this in a slightly panicked state as Larmour fades onto the wide pass. This means rather than previously where Wales had let Larmour exhaust his options and not make a real opportunity Tompkins leaves his inside open, trusting Wainwright to cover.
This slight over drift is the result of compounded errors, with Ball and Wyn Jones looking inward they don’t set proper spacing with very few options targeting that 2m channel either side of the ruck. This allows Ireland to strike on the outside of the Tompkins who has done everything right, and trusts his inside man, hoping the inside defence will push. In the heat of battle he over accelerates and Larmour takes a well finished try.
Overall, for Wales this will be a disappointing try to concede. This comes from slight individual errors having a large effect. However, these are easy fixes, so rather than this being a negative for Wales, it should instead be viewed as a positive for Ireland. Their new system helped them gain ground and territory against an admittedly narrow defence. From here, they keep the pressure on and are able to execute superbly with a wonderful pass and beautiful line. With the system now bedded in, and momentum under a new coach Ireland are prospering, leaving an entertaining match in Twickenham.
Stat reports available below
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1U_NymdXLSNZHZtIO89Sh2a_OKVt41sAq
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