according to Bernard Jackman Ireland’s strength in depth, needs to be improved, as there aren’t enough impact players like Andy Farrell to come off the bench.
Ireland fought back magnificently against France in the second half, scoring two tries in the space of five minutes to cut the deficit to one point with 30 minutes remaining.
Soon after Ireland’s two tries, France’s head coach Fabien Galthié substituted five of his forwards, and the tide swung back in their favour, as they scored a try and had one disallowed late in the game, ultimately winning by six points.
On RTE’s Against The Head, former Ireland international Jackman stated that Andy Farrell needs to find players capable of altering a game after being added late.
Bernard Jackman’s Comment on Irelands bench
“France were at a different level physically, but also [in terms of] skill set; they have six or seven players who can turn a game on its head,”
“I think the learning for us is can we get more depth before the World Cup? Because I think our bench isn’t actually geared to come on and give impact. It’s more of a bench to come on and protect the lead, because it’s stacked with experience.”
“But the way France used their bench… so by the 55th minute they changed their whole front five. They take off Paul Willemse and bring on Romain Taofifénua. They take off their whole front row, who are very, very good.”
Experienced heads can’t make a game-changing difference.
Ireland chose a vastly experienced bench against France, but as Jackman pointed out, a number of the replacements aren’t known for their ability to infuse pace into a game.
Dan Sheehan and Iain Henderson are powerful ball carriers among the forwards, but Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, and Peter O’Mahony aren’t quite as explosive as the guys they replaced.
O’Mahony can make major plays late in games, most notably a ruck or line out turnover, but his tackle and carry physicality pales in compared to Caelan Doris and Jack Conan.
With Conor Murray on the bench, Farrell has clearly chosen experience over-enthusiasm, since Jamison Gibson-Park is a more fast-paced, attack-minded scrum-half, whereas Murray is a superior game manager.
