‘Gritty’ Ireland eager to emulate Munster

Press, 4 November 1978, Page 60

‘Gritty’ Ireland eager to emulate Munster

From KEVIN McMENAMIN, on tom- with the All Blacks XV ith history no longer such a firm ally and fresh cause for doubting their own abilities the All Blacks will step warily when they take the field against Ireland at Lansdowne Road tomorrow morning (N.Z. time).

Outwardly the side has taken its defeat by Munster! last Tuesday in its stride but deeper down there may be a feeling that what Munster! can do, so can Ireland. The! side has received a lot of! advice to the contrary, the! prevailing opinion in Dublin ' being that Munstermen are! imbued with a spirit that! could never be generated in! an all-Ireland side. This may possibly be true but there can be no underestimating the Ireland side, or for that matter, turning a blind eye to the deficiencies in the All Blacks’ play, some being apparent even before Munster shattered any thoughts the players may have had about their chances of walking across the Shannon. Noe) Murphv, the Irish coach, is a man of vast rugby experience and it was the lilting of his voice rather than the substance of his words that was more acceptable when he spoke yesterday about the All Blacks being twice as hard for Ire- 1 land to beat now that they! l had tasted defeat. Murphy is in his second ■ year as the Irish coach and although he did not perform 1 any miracles last year there i is growing confidence that I Ireland will be a formidable i threat in the home inter- : nationals this year. ’

"We went a long way towards getting a new respect for Irish rugby last season and I think we can earn

more this year” said Murphy. Ireland will field neither a bad side nor one of outstanding pace but it is said to be a side ’ full of gritty competitors, and, as Munster showed so magnificently, this virtue can be more than enough. There are five Munster players in the side and one whom the All Blacks will not relish facing again is the outside half, Tony Ward. It was not just his two dropped goals and con-

version that made Ward such a commanding figure last Tuesday; his class was apparent the first time he took the ball and moved with the grace of a ballet dancer to escape a couple of tackles. In his tactical kicking he later showed he has a sharp rugby mind as well. Ward must be the danger man for the All Blacks and

the decision to play two mobile flankers, Graham Mourie and Leicester Rutledge could well be based on a desire to keep him pocketed. Rutledge’s brief will almost certainly be to employ his tack-

ling strength on Ward in the hope that it may shake his confidence. Outside Ward will be a man who 12 years ago was seen in much the same light, the incomparable Mike Gibson will be playing his sixty-sixth international for Ireland and after his unhappy time in New Zealand last year he has by all accounts proved quite conclusively that even at 3fi he is still a great player. Phil Orr, Moss Keane and Willie Duggan, all Lions in New Zealand last year, are the mainstays of the pack but the general view seems to be that Ireland will be struggling to match New

Zealand in both line-outs and rucks and the Irish forwards will concentrate on a scavenging role. Before the Munster game

- Ireland’s chances of beating - the All Blacks were not highly rated but a lot has happened since then and the fact that almost half the team that played against Munster has been changed: confirms that the selection! panel is worried The coach (Mr Jack Gleeson) could be excused a wi s h-you-were-here card home to the injured Otago full-back, Bevan Wilson, for this position remains the biggest headache. Brian McKechnie has been most disappointing and there was really no option but to play Clive Currie. Currie, the quiet man of the side, will almost certainly be heavily tested and although he does take the high ball well me rest of his nlav has not be“n very inspiring and then there is the goal-kicking burden which he must near — in 11 a daunting challenge for a young man who seems to lack a little in confidence. The British press pricked its ears a couple of days ago when Mr Gleeson spoke of giving away 15-man rugby for a 10-man brapd, an aftermath of the close attention the All Black backs received from their Munster riyals. It was probably no slip of the tongue but after the wav the All Blacks concentrated on the blind-side against Munster part of it at f least must have been in his cheek. f

I The decision to play Doug : Bruce, who is still troubled a little by his shoulder injury, strongly suggests that the Aii Blacks are going to kick for position and run the backs only sparingly. i The forwards need only to tighten their play, particularly at line-outs, to continue the favourable impression they have made. It was alarming in the extreme ’o see so much good line-out ball being wasted against Munster simply because noone was getting under the tap-backs r rom Andy Haden. The inclusion of Bill Bush should help here. The All Blacks badly need to win today. They have survived one loss without their spirits being dampened but a second in succession and with it an end to the hope of ■ perfect record through the internationals would be a severe setback so early in the tour.