Masterplan New Zealand, an expert analysis of Ireland vs Australia

First topic message reminder :

Last night on Masterplan New Zealand in SA, there was an analysis done by coaches Heineke Meyer (Bulls Coach), Allistair Coetzee (Stormers coach) of the Ireland vs Australia test and it was truly enlightening to listen to some experts providing an informative opinion on exactly why Ireland did so well in that match.

Scrums.
They showed clips from the 36 minute mark where on an Ireland scrum, Elsom, Samo and McMalman, all three of them had there heads up and barely binding did nothing to push in the scrum. It only went worse from there. Now if your back row is not even attempting to help the tight five, there is simply no chance for the tight five to keep a scrum going forward. This led to loss of confidence. The scrums ultimately cost Australia 9 points in penalties.

The other mistake the props made when the ground started turning soft from the rain, they didn’t adjust their footing as they set up for the hit, and once your footing is set, on wet ground you can’t change your footing because you will simply slip, and having an incorrect footing meant they were done and dusted.

Lineout
With Polota-Nau at hooker for the Wallabies and not known to be a renowned line out thrower the territorial game was something Ronan O’Gara exploited to the full when he came on, the Irish were very confident in kicking the ball out as they could contest the lineout with Polota- Nau not being the most accurate and could expect some errors from him.

Kicking to the back three.
Roana O’Gara in particular were very accurate with his deep kicks, ensuring he kicked the ball out and the Australian back three couldn’t run the ball back at them.

Defence.
They were very complimentary on how the Irish kept the ball tackler in the air and turned it into what we now call the choke tackle and got a number of turnovers in that manner.

Breakdowns.
Basically this was the same comment on when SA played Wales. Where the SH teams have to show daylight after the tackle (the tackler and tackle assist) before going into the breakdown to contest the ball, the NH teams do not do that. The Stormers coached by Allistair Coetzee, effectively clapped their hands as a show to the referee that there is daylight before going into the ruck.
Now this was not a criticism of Ireland, it was a criticism of Australia not managing to read the referee and being able to adjust to how it was officiated. South Africa after the Wales match, had essentially the same problem and were flummoxed as well in regards to the “daylight” issue.

Quade Cooper.
It seems that they believe quade cooper has quite a number of limitations as a fly half. Although they acknowledge the fact that when he is given space, he will run circles around most, his tactical nous or execution of basic flyhalf tasks are under par. With Ireland not providing him with that space his tactical execution of the chip kick, no look passes etc was far below standard.

Overall it was good to hear what coaches thought of the game and how they analysed it. What did come out of this was how important the forward packs are. You must have a strong tight five, your back row must be able to read how the referee officiates the breakdowns, and if you can’t win the tight exchanges and dominate the breakdowns, you basically stand very little chance of winning the world cup.

as much fun as I could have talking about Georgie boy (and dont get me started, ill invite Ruby to this thread aswell!!!) I wouldnt want to take away from an interesting article!

Does anybody think Aus have the minerals to win the competition if they fail to address their scrum and adapt their style?

Losing Ioane was a huge blow, and the Irish cut down the halfbacks space, but surely they must have a plan B with so many talented attacking options across the park?

Plan B....

umm, you've got us there, err Quade. what's the Plan B???

Quade: Dunna mate, err skipper, what's our Plan B?

Howill: Err dunno, let's chuck the ball to Quade and see what he comes up with...

To be honest, this is the best thing that could have happened to Oz.

To our detriment of course. I think the tactics Ireland used on them has now made Deans fully aware of how easily teams with physical approaches can negate his dangerous back line, something he initially expected them to cope with.

Now we will have to find new tactics, because he won't be caught with that again.

OzT wrote:
Plan B....

umm, you've got us there, err Quade. what's the Plan B???

Quade: Dunna mate, err skipper, what's our Plan B?

Howill: Err dunno, let's chuck the ball to Quade and see what he comes up with...

..........................and then quade chucks a no look pass out wide, only to be intercepted.

Horwill, "was that plan B"

Quade " what do you mean was that plan B"

Horwill " I said chuck the ball to Quade and see what he comes up with"

Quade " sorry, cap, I though I must chuck the ball and see......"

OzT wrote:
Plan B....

umm, you've got us there, err Quade. what's the Plan B???

What was Plan A.... ..... .....

roddersm wrote:

OzT wrote:
Plan B....

umm, you've got us there, err Quade. what's the Plan B???

What was Plan A.... ..... .....

that went out the window, they couldnt find Georgie boy an Aussie gran!