This one is going to sting for a while.
It’s difficult to know where to begin when you begin the post-mortem of Ireland’s 22-9 defeat to Wales in Cardiff last night.
One thing you can say is that the Irish team gave it everything they had. It was truly bodies on the line stuff but unfortunately, fronting up physically will only get you so far at this level.
Ireland’s all too familiar inaccuracies when it comes to the set-piece at crucial times, came back to haunt them in a big way.
Ireland’s attack is predominantly based off set-piece moves and there is little wrong with that, but one thing is for certain, the scrum or lineout in particular, need to be rock solid.
Unfortunately for Joe Schmidt’s side, the last number of games have been plagued by sloppy lineout errors at crucial moments and the same can be said for last night.
One of Ireland’s main problems is the lack of, or even quality of jumpers in the lineout. Too often Ireland rely on Devin Toner to secure ball and it makes it easier for the opposition to compete.
Peter O’Mahony is an excellent lineout operator. He has a great leap which makes it easier for his colleagues to lift him and this means he can get up into the air quicker, increasing the likelihood of securing ball or stealing it on the opposition’s throw.
It is imperative that this man comes into the side to face England.
Of course, someone needs to drop out and based on last night’s performance, that person is Jamie Heaslip.
Although the 33-year-old tackled and carried heroically, he made little impact on the game and wasn’t as influential as he would have liked at the breakdown.
In addition to this, there should be two other changes. Cian Healy coming in for Jack McGrath and Jared Payne coming in for Rob Kearney at fullback.
Healy’s aggression in the loose will be needed against a formidable English outfit and Payne’s return to fitness will see him offer more in both attack and defence than the dependable Kearney.
