Brian Moore isn’t buying the excuse that Ireland’s Six Nations struggles are down to a lengthy injury list.
The defending champions are without a win in this year’s tournament, having just a single point and a single try to show for their efforts against Wales and France.
And while injuries to the likes of Sean O’Brien, Mike Ross, Cian Healy, Luke Fitzgerald, Peter O’Mahony and more have no doubt hampered Ireland’s chances of winning a third championship in a row, England legend and current BBC co-commentator Moore believes that any results achieved in those games would merely paper over a more serious lack of tactical variety.
Writing in the Telegraph, Moore said: “It is fair to highlight the number of injuries they have sustained but this does not extenuate Ireland’s failure to pose more than an intermittent threat of scoring tries.
“For the majority of the game against France, Ireland were the better team. They had superior field position but could not fashion anything more than penalty kicks and only the high ball option looked likely to produce a try.”
Moore reckons that while Ireland’s pressure game of kick and chase can yield its rewards, the long-term failure to go into matches with a reliable Plan B leaves Joe Schmidt’s side rather one-dimensional and vulnerable to more competent opposition.
“This issue is not confined to this game, where the weather admittedly made it more difficult to move the ball; it has been a problem for a couple of seasons,'” the former hooker says.
“When Ireland’s tactical kicking game is exact and their chasing game at its most effective they can turn errors into scores.
“If both are not precise or opponents are good enough to cope under pressure, Ireland have to have clearly defined alternatives to score. To possess these alternatives they cannot turn to them as an afterthought as they need to be as familiar as their pressure game.
“When all their injured players return Ireland will be a far better team but this tactical conundrum will remain unless it is addressed.”
