Overrun. Out-matched. Out-coached. The Black Ferns were always going to be a challenge for Ireland. It didn’t make this crash down to earth any easier to watch.
To say that Ireland were out-coached probably offers too much credit to the staff of the Black Ferns. Their game plan was simple. Watch Ireland overplay in front of them. Swarm with line speed. Give the ball to their best athletes.
Maybe simplicity disguises the genius.
In any case, Ireland were tactically naive, either refusing to change course or incapable of doing so. They failed to game-plan their way out of what was always likely to be an athletic mismatch. It cost them dearly.
RM Block
In attack, the warning signs were there from the opening passage. That a sloppy Kiwi breakdown penalty allowed Ireland to kick into the corner should not distract from a concerning group of phases which fast became a trend.
New Zealand defenders won every collision. Some went low, with a series of devastating chop-tackles on display. Others went high, driving Ireland back in contact.
Every time Dannah O’Brien took the ball behind her forward pods, a black shirt occupied her personal space. Ditto the outside backs when she did manage to shovel the ball on. Side to side went the ball, no momentum earned throughout the middle. New Zealand’s blitz thanked them for it.
“We knew it was coming,” said Ireland head coach Scott Bemand of the ferocious line speed. “We know that our ball movement has got to be a bit quicker, so sometimes, at the end of the first half, we got a bit passive, a bit steady with the ball and then their line speed can get you behind the gainline.
“When we were fast with it, we got the ball to the edge and made some momentum. There were times we caught behind it and times we created opportunities.”
Knowing what’s coming is one thing. Changing tack is something else entirely. Still without Aoife Wafer, Ireland lacked the forward heft to keep play narrow. Going blind was one option, particularly with Béibhinn Parsons offering rare moments of success. The change never came.
New Zealand’s aggressive defence was a stark contrast to Ireland’s. Throughout this World Cup they have favoured a softer up-and-out approach instead of a blitz. It worked against Japan and Spain, whose wide threats were stronger than their narrow ones.
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Even still, after the Spain game, head coach Bemand acknowledged that Ireland struggled to deal with the narrow attack. It proved to be a warning.
There was no answer to the brutality of New Zealand’s bigger carriers. They were bigger. Faster. Stronger. Ireland’s lack of urgency off the line only made matters worse. Centre Sylvia Brunt, number eight Liana Mikaele-Tu’u and secondrow Alana Bremner built a head of steam. They made metres in contact at will.
A 12-eight switch play off the back of a lineout led directly to a score for loosehead Chryss Viliko. Another big carrier Ireland struggled to stop.
Niamh O’Dowd was a rare Irish player to regularly come quickly off the line. She did so off the opening kick-off, a big collision keeping New Zealand inside their own 22. Parsons too pulled off one memorable hit when rushing out of the line on kick-chase, a much-needed read which stopped a try on the outside.
Sitting off powerful carriers is hardly to be advised. Given the problems started early, player fatigue can’t be blamed. Bemand replaced his defence coach Hugh Hogan after the Six Nations, James Scaysbrook now entrusted with that portfolio.
It’s perhaps an overly simple narrative to suggest that a change of coach, bringing with him a new voice and a different system, led to Ireland’s defensive struggles on Sunday. This was, after all, the best attacking side Ireland faced since the change. Still, soft line speed against this opponent doesn’t scream stellar game-planning.
“They have got threats across across the park, fair play to them,” said Bemand. “What we’ve got to do is just get a little bit better in controlling how those threats get on the ball and what space we give them.”
In attack, there were at least some signs of changing approach, of on-field problem solving. In the second half, Ireland narrowed up to avoid the teeth of the blitz. O’Dowd’s deft offload allowed Grace Moore to break close to the ruck. Edel McMahon took an offload as Ireland carried into the 22. Aoife Dalton - not for the first time - made a half-break dealing with unsympathetic ball.
It wasn’t a change in tack nor fortune which sustained itself long enough for Ireland to remove the zero next to their name. One 22 attack was ended by O’Brien being swarmed behind the gainline. Again. She led Ireland for carries with 15. No team plans for their outhalf to bear the carrying load.
A later chance saw a maul held up over the line. Wide or tight, New Zealand were simply too powerful.
It may be a touch harsh to focus criticism on the Irish coaching staff. Rugby is a tough sport when you can’t win collisions.
Having been run over for 80 minutes, a bruised Irish side will take on another powerful French in next week’s quarter-final. Do they have as many threats as the Black Ferns?
Still, there is now an anti-Ireland blueprint which any coaching staff worth their salt will back themselves to replicate. Green-tinted glasses might point to the value of Ireland learning this lesson now and not in a knockout game.
A lack of up-front carrying heft, lateral play in attack and a soft line speed against a more powerful opponent is asking for trouble. We’ll find out next week if Ireland have the tools to adapt.
