In my experience, your best mates tell you things that you don’t want to hear but need to hear. So listen up Ireland. In the lead-up to the New Zealand game you lost the run of yourselves.
Ireland bought into the now debunked theory that New Zealand had grossly declined. Something I have never believed.
For a nation that had previously lost 28 consecutive games to New Zealand, not to mention the fact that New Zealand had eliminated Ireland from the past two World Cups at the quarter-final stage, the ridiculous notion that somehow the power of that famous black jersey had greatly diminished was a widely believed myth.
Ireland should believe that they can compete and defeat New Zealand, but before the match I was repeatedly told that the New Zealanders’ aura of invincibility had crumbled. Whether that was arrogance or ignorance, you decide.
The only other place I have ever heard the word aura mentioned so often was in a surf shop in Byron Bay on the north coast of New South Wales owned by a couple of ageing hippies. They are constantly trying to sell you crystals to heal everything from arthritis to acne.
“Man, your aura is like blinding bright, but it is flickering around your knee joint. That’s a bad scene. I have some crystals I brought home from a temple in Kathmandu. Can you dig it? They will, like, enhance your glow. Only $90.”
“Man, by the way, those All Blacks, their aura is giving me bad vibes.”
Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? I had to listen to similar stuff all last week.
The words of the highly combative former NFL defensive end, JJ Watt need to be heeded. “Success is not owned. It is leased. And rent is due every day.”
Ireland foolishly believed the hype – that they “owned” the win over New Zealand.
In each and every game winning has to be earned. Ireland simply did not perform at the standard required to earn success. Ireland have now lost three out of their last five games because they are not hitting the correct standards.
It is of no consolation that England suffered the same fate. While Ireland had the good manners to suggest that it was only the New Zealanders’ aura that had diminished, whatever that means, last week former English internationals and their media made outrageously derogatory comments about the Wallabies. They yelled from the roof tops that Australia had deteriorated to such an extent that the Twickenham match was already won.
When I read those comments, I immediately knew that England were vulnerable. When an English sporting team starts to crow about their Australian opponents, they are often vulnerable to pressure. At Twickenham last Saturday England imploded and, as an Australian, it was beautiful to watch.
When Max Jorgensen dived over to score the winning try in the 83rd minute he sealed what is possibly the Wallabies’ most important victory since winning the 1999 World Cup. While it is impossible to accurately convey the state of degradation that the game is in across Australia, that win at Twickenham has lifted the failing spirits of the faithful and flung rugby across all sections of the Australian media for good reasons for the first time in many years.
With the unveiling of their new star, Joseph Suaalii, who has exploded on to the world stage by playing outstanding rugby, the Wallabies may have ignited next year’s Lions tour, and just maybe the long arduous journey of saving rugby in the country has started.
As has been noted by Phil Gould, the highly successful Australian Rugby League coach and commentator: “If you disrespect your opponent you are inviting disappointment into your life.”
Both Ireland and England are testimony to that.
What is not being spoken about is that against New Zealand the Irish were tactically bereft. The lack of any kicking strategy on a damp Dublin night is totally incomprehensible. When Ireland conceded a string of penalties midway through the second half their lack of a structured kicking game meant they gave them away deep within their own half. This gifted New Zealand the winning of the match via the boot and vision of Damien McKenzie. It was not until too late in the game that James Lowe and Mack Hansen kicked Ireland into the New Zealand 22.
Enter Los Pumas. Despite not having a single professional domestic team below their national side, this year Argentina have defeated France, Italy, Australia, New Zealand and the Springboks. That is a staggering achievement. The equivalent is Ireland playing international rugby with only the AIL as a feeder system. Under the guidance of the much-admired former Leinster player and assistant coach Felipe Contepomi, the Pumas on their day are a team approaching excellence.
Ireland are going to require more than a handful of hippy crystals to defeat the aura of this Puma team.
What the Pumas have always possessed is a deeply passionate commitment to their jersey that borders on fanaticism. Their failing is they have an ability to play winning rugby against the world’s best one week, then perform below expectations the next. They are consistently inconsistent.
Despite this, have no doubt, the number one priority for Contepomi this November is to win in Dublin. Ireland must expect it will be the best version of the Pumas who walk on to the pitch tonight.
If Ireland play like they did last week, caught up in results from the past, with heads, hearts and tactics not fully focused on the tasks at hand, then the next few weeks will hold a great deal of pain. With Fiji being worthy winners in Cardiff and the Wallabies breaking a 10-year long drought in London, there are no easy games this autumn.
