Jared Payne is an easy fall guy.
It’s easy to beat a back with the try-tally stick. It’s easy to lump a defensive centre in with all the problems of the northern hemisphere – even if he is from New Zealand.
And it’s been far too easy in the last two years to hold up Jared Payne as a scapegoat for any issues you might have with Joe Schmidt’s philosophy.
The truth is, Ireland would be lost without him.
In last year’s World Cup, we cursed Sean O’Brien’s ban. We ached and empathised with Johnny Sexton and Peter O’Mahony when injury struck and we lost ourselves in sorrow when a brutal hamstring tear ended Paul O’Connell’s Ireland career.
Payne’s loss to the Irish backline was irreparable but no-one seemed to notice until Argentina punched our ticket home.
Okay, four tries after 17 international caps isn’t exactly glorious reading and maybe what Payne largely does for Ireland isn’t what keeps kids in the fields an hour after training trying to replicate what they’ve seen on TV.
When you think of Payne, you usually think of pain – the sort of which he dishes out relentlessly. Mercilessly.
And he has his backers for that no doubt, he has his admirers, many of them. People recognise the need for the Ulster man’s aggression, his timing, his sheer honest work-rate and his brunt force. Anyone lucky enough to have even caught a glimpse of him in Soldier Field against the All Blacks – even for a minute – would’ve held him up as the unsung hero of Schmidt’s Ireland.
The graft he went through and the punishment he offered was nothing short of immense and cruel and Payne at his uncompromising best was what kept Ireland in the game and ahead in the game. Sam Cane, George Moala, Julian Savea, Ben Smith. He shut them all down.
But, ironically, not that anyone would jump to give him credit for it, it was his attacking instincts that forced the win and ended 111 years of misery. It was Jared Payne.
Joe Schmidt spoke after that famous win over New Zealand about the enforced switch of Ardie Savea onto the wing for the opposition and it was clear as day that the head coach had targeted that weakness in the fence for the Irish to exploit and bolt through.
Joe Schmidt on how Ireland reacted and reaped from the All Blacks injuries. Ardie Savea definitely exploited as makeshift winger pic.twitter.com/loP8KdGfjM
— Pat McCarry (@patmccarry) November 7, 2016
In Jared Payne, he had the perfect man to follow through and destroy Ardie Savea out there.
In Jared Payne, he had the brain, the balls, and the skill to execute the plan and, in the 75th minute, it was Payne’s influence that forced Ireland onto the front foot to finish off the All Blacks with aplomb.
Whereas everyone rightly lauded praise on the bull-like Robbie Henshaw for producing the history-making try; whereas the world marvelled at THAT Conor Murray tackle toppling the bus that is Julian Savea after a good 70 metre sprint; if you go back one further, it all started with Jared Payne exposing the youngest Savea brother and drawing him in off the wing like an cruel expert, an evil genius.
Ireland get out of the scrum and the trap is about to be set.
Payne delays the pass like a wily f**ker until Savea and New Zealand are sucked in and Ireland have a man over.
Two men are drawn to the wrong man as Payne goes long and wide to release Zebo.
The result is a punt upfield, a chase, a huge Conor Murray tackle and an emphatic Henshaw try to win the game.
First phase set-play, delayed skip pass, intelligent kick, rabid chase, heaving tackle and then the scrum. Jamie Heaslip and Henshaw took over.
The history books will remember Henshaw going over. They’ll remember the 40 points Ireland scored and of course they’ll praise forever that piece of Murray magic. They might not, however, look at where it all started, with Jared Payne.
None of it would’ve been possible without Payne. Victory would’ve been impossible without him.
Defensively, everyone knows that he is crucial – bruised and wounded New Zealand bodies would tell you their own story.
But offensively, he doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Ardie Savea would tell you that.
Joe Schmidt can smile wryly that yet again he has been vindicated. Jared Payne can rest easy in the knowledge that this was another job well done. Just another day at the office for him, in truth.
