Easterby's to-do list: Hands full with the set-piece and skills
Pic: ©inpho/dan Ireland's Tadhg Sheridan Australia Lineout In A Beirne Against
Ireland defence coach Simon Easterby is set to take temporary charge as Andy Farrell assumes the reins of the British & Lions ahead of next summer’s tour to Australia and he inherits a squad that struggled to hit top gear in November despite three wins from four.
Easterby has his hands full if Ireland are to make history as the first team to win three Six Nations titles in a row this coming spring, with England their round-one opponents in Dublin on Saturday, February 1.
Saturday’s 22-19 victory over the Wallabies featured an unusually high number of 32 lineouts, 23 of them to Ireland. For the fourth week in a row, the Irish completion rate has failed to reach 90 per cent, the benchmark standard for an efficient top-level lineout unit. Against Australia it was 83 per cent, and there is a sense that Six Nations rivals will have identified the Irish set-piece as an area to exploit. The plus side is that Ireland have got rediscovered their ability to strike through their maul but the initial phase from touch will need to tighten up.
While Ireland got their discipline back under control after conceding 13 penalties against both New Zealand and Argentina, the number falling to eight apiece against Fiji and Australia, their multi-phase attacking flow continued to be undermined throughout the month.
Saturday’s handling error count against the Wallabies was the highest of their Autumn Nation Series campaign with 28 with Andy Farrell irritated by dropped balls and misplaced passes which lost momentum and handed access to opposition teams.
While overall performances have improved across the month, individual errors are still hurting this previously pristine operation and there has to be an upturn if the 2025 Six Nations is to be a success.
Andy Farrell handed four debuts this November, to tighthead prop Thomas Clarkson coming off the bench against Argentina in the absence of injured first-choice Tadhg Furlong, and Sam Prendergast coming on at fly-half against Argentina, while Leinster academy hooker Gus McCarthy and Ulster flanker Cormac Uzuchukwu got their first caps in the win over Fiji.
All four have been impressive and have staked claims to places in Easterby’s Six Nations squad but competition will only increase with Furlong, first-choice hooker Dan Sheehan, and back rowers Jack Conan and Ryan Baird all due back from injury after Christmas.
It may not be the young guns who miss out, with the public clamour for fresh faces putting pressure on the older guard and Easterby, no doubt in consultation with Farrell, will have to decide whether now is the time to usher in a new era while thanking some senior players for their distinguished service.