“Perfection is the enemy of success.” There are several variations on that quote, but the primary meaning remains the same, striving to be perfect can be counterintuitive, preventing improvement, while also serving to remind us of the delicate balance between aspiration and practicality in terms of focus.
Ireland were far from perfect in their opening World Cup match against Romania in Bordeaux yet it was a significant triumph in the context of the opening weekend of the tournament. When you are the number one side in the world everyone looks to see how easily you carry the mantle in terms of performance values.
Classifying Romania as a potential banana skin would have been ridiculous, the result was a foregone conclusion, but the merit of their performance, the pride with which they played asked questions of Ireland from time to time.
Everyone understands the low value of a runaway win but it’s preferential to something like Ireland’s toe-curling experience against Georgia (14-10) in the 2007 World Cup in France.
The prematch challenge for Ireland going into the game was to be accurate and sharp, focus on performance values and that in turn would make the scoreboard tick over nicely, especially when the Romanians were blowing hard in the final quarter.
Elsewhere the pattern of closely contested matches, where momentum swings became the defining factor, was a recurring theme over the weekend. France and New Zealand provided an example in their tournament opening clash. In the final quarter at the Stade de France the All Blacks needed to score but the pressure that France had applied all evening began to be the point of difference.
They squeezed New Zealand at the set piece and at other contact points forcing their opponents to concede a rake of penalties that allowed Thomas Ramos the opportunity, which he took, to apply scoreboard pressure. France’s pressure game eventually suffocated the All Blacks and as a result New Zealand lacked the energy and dynamism to rescue a result.
The Springboks pursued a similar strategy against Scotland, clattering and climbing into them physically at every opportunity, dominating the set piece except for a couple of scrum penalties, all of which had a legacy effect in the latter stages of a match. South Africa also regathered 18 of 27 kicks.
What is abundantly clear already is that any team that has ambitions in this tournament will need to have a strong set piece. Wales and Fiji were evenly matched in this regard, and it came to literally the last play of the match to separate them; had the bounce of the ball been a little kinder to Semi Radradra, Fiji would have had a kick to win.
Ireland’s set piece is a key instrument in how they play and while the lineout was again imperfect, it still proved a good launch pad. Ronan Kelleher got valuable minutes under his belt, and his physicality may bring him the starting role against Tonga.
The unseasonably warm weather has brought challenges, the stifling heat of the afternoon matches or the high humidity and slippery ball for the night games. Andy Farrell had the luxury of replacing his starting frontrow, halfbacks and James Ryan and Caelan Doris before the final quarter.
In my experience in knockout rugby, performance levels need to rise with each game and that sentiment is applicable to the Tonga game in Nantes on Saturday. Irrespective of what team is selected there can’t be any fall-off. In some of the previous World Cups it was an Achilles heel for Irish teams.
Johnny Sexton was typically excellent last weekend but there is more to be gained from starting Jack Crowley, who I believe to be just ahead of Ross Byrne, against Tonga and see how he copes with running the game from the opening whistle.
Saturday’s match is important both as a single entity and in the broader context. Andy Farrell is entrusting players with starting roles, and irrespective of whether they are in contention to play against South Africa the following weekend, there must be integrity and quality in what they produce.
Farrell will want to see that they are ready, when, not if, they are called upon. Mack Hansen’s introduction against Romania will be a shining example of what he expects from all his players; not in the match day 23, called up late and when introduced added significant value. The last-minute try reinforcing how much Farrell lets his players play.
Ireland’s preference is to keep possession when looking to attack, ambition underpinned by accuracy. Everyone needs to chip in, be alive to what’s on and sharp in their detail. Trust is a core value in a squad especially in a rotation environment of tournament play, no matter what the opposition.
Rugby powerhouses like New Zealand and South Africa got it right in terms of mixing and matching through the pool stages in winning previous World Cups with no drop in standards. The dress rehearsal in Bayonne against Samoa takes sharp focus now, and there were plenty of lessons from that match that will remain invaluable for Ireland.
Farrell marked cards in the aftermath as some people didn’t deal with the situation as well as he would have wished. I would expect a few of these players will get the chance to atone on Saturday.
Tonga, like Samoa, have added quality to their roster and they will offer substantially more than their traditional physicality through the obvious quality of Charles Piutau and Malakai Fekitoa. The phrase step-up seems apposite, for those handed an opportunity at the weekend, and in the collective performance in Nantes.
That’s the way to walk into South Africa week.
