Wednesday, March 17, 2010
THE iconic Paul O’Connell goes into Irish action for a noteworthy 70th time on Saturday at Croke Park, but he tips young guns like Keith Earls to set even higher standards.
As Ireland go in search of a fifth Triple Crown, against Scotland, Lions skipper O’Connell is in awe of the youngsters coming into the national squad, Earls being just one.
O’Connell may have given the scoring pass for Ireland’s second try in the 27-12 victory over Wales but he still shakes his head in wonder at the skill shown by winger/centre Earls in his two-try salvo last week.
O’Connell said the young guns brought a huge amount to their respective provincial squads and to the national team: "They’re young and enthusiastic and have no fear, absolutely no fear; they’re willing to have a go at anyone with no respect for reputation. They’re so well coached now, having come through the academy system, and they are in such good condition. They’re big boys, positive around the pitch and around the camp, and in Keith’s case I’m actually envious of the great career he has ahead of him.
"Last week, everything he did was excellent, he put Wally (David Wallace) down the wing at one stage, flicked a lovely ball up from the ground through his foot to hand and chipped it ahead and nearly scored a third try; everything was done with so much ease, he is a pleasure to watch.
"In the case of the young lads who have come through, Luke Fitzgerald and Rob Kearney too, it’s not just that they’re emerging into the squad but they’re coming through to become the best players on the pitch; that’s a great thing for Irish rugby, for competition in the team and for the confidence of the team going forward."
But as Ireland go in search of their fourth Six Nations victory of the season that will guarantee them silverware, O’Connell has issued words of warning about Saturday’s opponents: They might be bottom of the table, they might be smarting from defeat by Italy and facing a wooden spoon, but the big second row is in no doubt that a successful sign-off from the Croke Park era is not a done deal.
He remarked: "I don’t care what anyone says but Scotland are an unbelievably tough, very physical, side to play against and I don’t accept their position in the table does them justice for the way they have been playing. They have a very strong back row, lots of quality ball-carriers and played a lot of good rugby against England last week.
"Their defence has been pretty strong; they have conceded only one more try than us this championship and, apart from spells in the French game, we have been delighted the way our defence has been going so perhaps that puts more in perspective what Scotland have achieved."
The biggest challenge will take place up front, where O’Connell expects an abrasive challenge, perhaps even the biggest of the season, from Scotland in the lineouts.
"It’s an area we haven’t done badly but it’s also an area where, in my experience, we have always faced a big challenge from them."
O’Connell admitted he would look forward to an improvement in the scrums and a better return from the breakdown, where both teams might have difficulty coming to terms with southern hemisphere style rulings from referee Jonathan Kaplan.
He is certainly hoping for a better return in territory. "We know we need to enjoy more attacking positions; it is a concern from the last couple of matches. We want more of the ball and more of the territory because we might not always be as clinical in terms of finishing. However, if we can get more ball and more ground, put those together with the clinical way we have been finishing and scoring, then maybe we can move on to another level," he said.
Although O’Connell would love to sign off with a resounding victory over the Scots, the most important thing is actually the win itself.
When Ireland first moved to GAA headquarters they lost to a late sucker-punch from France and the Irish second row doesn’t want to go out the same route.
"Croke Park has been brilliant for us, we’re well aware of the tradition and history and we’re all proud to have played there knowing how difficult it had been to get to play there; we’re thankful to the GAA and conscious of the fact for many reasons we wanted to do well there. The biggest moment in my time there was the emotional day (during and after the national anthems) against England in year one. Hopefully we can go out in similar fashion because we certainly want to get a good send-off and do ourselves justice."
This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Tait: Ultimate test at Twickenham
By Joe Drabble Last updated: 24th February 2010
England centre Mathew Tait has spoken of his admiration for Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll as the pair prepare to go head-to-head at Twickenham on Saturday.
The Sale star has started both of England's 2010 RBS Six Nations victories, but will be in for his toughest examination to date when the Irish arrive at HQ this weekend.
After flirting with a number of positions along England's backline during his 34 international caps, Tait now has his sights firmly set on making the number 13 jersey his own.
And the 24-year-old knows a solid display against O'Driscoll will turn that dream into a reality.
"This is the position I feel the most comfortable in. I have played the majority of my rugby there and I need to justify my selection," said Tait.
"Jason Robinson (Sale coach) has been a big help for me this year in giving me the confidence to go out there and do my thing.
"I probably should have said I wanted to stick to one position. In the World Cup final I played the second half at full-back and it went reasonably well - but I should have been stronger about where I want to play.
"As a young guy you just want to play for your country. It is a personality thing as well. I am a reasonably quiet guy and looking back I was just happy to be involved.
"The ability to cover a few positions has probably stood me in good stead over the years in terms of being involved in the squads - but not in starting games and as you move on you want to nail down a position.
"I play the game to test myself against the top players and O'Driscoll certainly is that. He is a guy I grew up watching. He has been one of the top players, top centres in world rugby.
"I am pleased to be in the mix and fingers crossed this weekend goes alright and I will be for a long time."
Tait has made his mark on both England's victories so far - creating a try against Wales and scoring one of his own in the narrow win in Italy.
But the former Newcastle man admits he wants to see more of the ball this weekend.
Crazy
"I am relatively pleased how those game have gone but I want to get my hands on the ball a bit more. That has been quite frustrating," said Tait.
"It is up to me to work hard and put myself into positions where I can."
Tait has also urged his team-mates to silence those critics who labelled England "too negative" during their recent 17-12 win against Italy.
Tait's try, created by Ugo Monye and Delon Armitage, was the only time England showed their attacking quality and it proved to be the difference in Rome.
"The whole group wants to go out and play attacking rugby but we have to make sure we do it at the right time," said Tait.
"The coaches are giving us the freedom to go out and do what we want.
"Last week there was too much kicking. That doesn't mean we will be crazy and throw it around when it is not on but we all want to play an attacking brand of rugby."
via skysports.com
Hurricanes lock Jason Eaton is determined to make amends for his off-field indiscretions on the pitch on Saturday when the Lions visit Wellington.
Eaton is expected to be recalled to the Hurricanes second row after serving a one-match ban for breaking team protocol and has promised to be in barnstorming form at Westpac Stadium.
Coach Colin Cooper is unlikely to make wholesale changes to his unbeaten team but Eaton, who featured strongly in team training this week, is likely to be given a chance to repay his team for his indiscretions.
"Obviously I made a mistake a few weeks back," Eaton told The Dominion Post.
"It's been dealt with and hopefully its all in the past. I've moved on and I'm looking forward to this upcoming game against the Lions," Eaton said.
"I made a mistake and I've been duly punished. It's never easy to sit on the sidelines and see someone else playing in your spot. That's in the past though and I'm looking forward to this week."
Eaton wasn't revealing details of what is understood to have been a verbal run-in with a barman, but said he regretted the incident.
"I've learnt from what I've done and I certainly won't be doing that sort of behaviour again and make sure I do everything off the field right," he said.
"It wasn't easy on me and the headlines were embarrassing, but that comes with the nature of being a professional rugby player I suppose with the things you can and can't do off the field.
"That's life. I got punished for what I did. That's the team's and the management's decision, so I just have to move on and grow from it."
On form, Eaton should return in the second row, though Cooper has strong options with Bryn Evans and James Broadhurst both sound in the win over the Force.
Rodney So'oialo may be in line for his first start of the season at number eight, possibly with Karl Lowe given his first start of the season at openside, while it's hard to see Michael Paterson moved from blindside after his strong performances to date.
Willie Ripia appears set to continue to start ahead of young star Aaron Cruden who missed training on Tuesday for personal reasons, but will rejoin the squad on Wednesday.
Cooper admits he is keen to have as many of his squad involved as possible in the opening rounds of the Super 14, but does not want to jeopardise the strong start to the season.
"It's important we keep our focus on the Lions because they're a big threat as I said and we are not thinking about South Africa. For the senior players it's important to drive that team focus," he said.
Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll tells the Evening Herald's EAMON CARR how he's determined to put Paris loss behind him with victory at Twickenham
A week after Ireland's 33-10 mauling by France in Paris, the wounds, both physical and psychic are healing. Captain Brian O'Driscoll is in a positive frame of mind. The internal bruising has worked its painful way out of the system. He seems cheerful. But resolute.
It's Saturday afternoon and he's enjoying his role as Gillette ambassador, meeting the public, exchanging pleasantries, signing autographs, giving the kids (young and old) a photo opportunity.
Ambassador is a term coined by the public relations and marketing people. In O'Driscoll's case, it's an apt term. He's every inch a diplomat. But definitely not a pushover.
In conversation today he's a bit like he is on the pitch. Considered yet expansive. Unflinching and attentive. Honest. Solid. A captain.
Injuries, suspensions, changes and shake-ups are developments he assimilates without fuss. His objectives remain the same. He wants to win. And this week the one thing O'Driscoll doesn't want to do is compound last week's loss with a second successive defeat after their impressive 15-month, 12-game winning streak.
EC: So what's the mood in the camp like in the wake of the France defeat?
BO'D: The mood is good. It's never nice coming into any situation after a weekend loss. Whether it be with your province or an international, it doesn't change. But once you have the video and try and put that to bed and see where you went wrong and see where you can make improvements, you go out and train.
And then you just have to look at bringing positivity to things and making sure that you don't make those errors again.
EC: Ireland gave as good as they got for the first 20 minutes. Then unforced errors gifted France. Prior to that, the eventual outcome seemed balanced on a knife edge.
BO'D: It's all momentum based. Games are. You have to take your opportunities and nudge in front and stay in the game. Because we didn't do that, because we didn't get the breaking ball off D'Arcy's chip and chase, and not scoring before half-time which probably would have made it a one-try game, 17-10. Those sort of things have huge impacts on games. You really have to take those opportunities and build on them. When they were 17-3 up, they played with a bit more confidence. Passes stuck a bit more.
Then, when you start chasing the game, more often than not, you leave yourself a bit more vulnerable. There's a very fine margin in those games of just getting in front and building your lead. They did what they're typically good at. They nudged in front and over there particularly, when they started trying things they started to stick.
EC: Is it difficult to keep things upbeat and positive in camp? Is the atmosphere tense at present?
BO'D: No, not really. Obviously I've had different atmospheres at different times. The atmosphere post-World Cup 2007 wasn't particularly good. Or over there. Everyone was low because we weren't playing well. Because we weren't having good fun.
It is a matter of being able to train hard, work hard on the pitch, but then when you're away from it being able to still have a laugh. Little things like setting up committees and making sure there are things to do and that boys aren't getting bored. That's a big issue for us. Spending as much time in hotels as we do, boredom can set in. So it's just keeping each other entertained. Certainly last week that was as good as ever.
EC: How hard is it for players not to become frustrated when others are making errors in a game?
BO'D: Frustration is an individual thing as well. Obviously passes didn't stick in the last game. There were more unforced errors than usual. But that's uncharacteristic of guys. I don't think there are any worries from that point of view.
But there's this huge negativity at the moment from outside of the squad about this one loss. It's one loss in 11 games so people just need to relax a little. All teams lose.
We haven't got a great record against France over there. We played well for 20 minutes and then they got their breaks and then, in fairness to them, they pushed on. It's not the end of the world. We just need to go out and try and make sure that we perform well again and hopefully that will take care of the result against England.
EC: Perhaps the defeat by France will take some of the steam out of public expectation, after talk of a second Grand Slam in succession.
BO'D: There is still a Championship to play for and a Triple Crown to be played for. It wasn't so long ago when Triple Crowns were worth winning.
Whether people's perception of that has changed, it hasn't from the team's point of view. We still want to go out and win as many games as we can. If we can't win them all, we try to win enough to win the Championship. If we can't do that, then try to win the Triple Crown.
Two out of the three are still attainable, so nothing changes from our point of view. Just because there's been one loss, there's no point in sulking about it for the rest of the competition.
EC: Rugby punditry seems to be a growth industry in Ireland. Yet if I listen to, or read, five or six commentators I inevitably encounter divergent views. Can that be irritating, off-putting or motivational? How do players deal with that?
BO'D: When you look at all the conflicting reviews, essentially all that is is a load of single people's individual points of view. That's one person. Sure they've got a big readership and as a result some of those people are going to start assuming those thoughts, start believing what they're reading. But from my end that's one person writing something.
I think I am a pretty good judge of when things are going well and when things are going badly. When I'm playing well or not playing too well. When the team is going in the right direction or whether we're a bit stagnant.
With all the varying points of view across the board, I don't think the lads get caught up in them. Some people don't read things. Some people read everything. It's horses for courses from that point of view.
All I can speak of personally is what's written about us doesn't concern me greatly because I genuinely feel, because I've been involved in the game for 10 odd years, that I have as good, if not a better knowledge than the vast majority of people writing out there. Because I know what it's like at the coalface. I know how difficult it is. And I don't know if you can fully get a balanced opinion unless you've been there. Unless you know what Test match rugby is like.
But then at the same time, I've seen some past internationals writing some things that I would be far from (being) in like-mindedness with as regards what has happened in games.
It feels as thought at times they are watching different games than I am.
EC: And you could say that the game is continually evolving.
BO'D: It has changed. It's changed massively in the last three years.
EC: Looking towards the England match, I'm reminded that last year's final score was very close, 14-13.
BO'D: It was. A one-point win. People think, "Ah, we beat England". One point! We had to kick off to them after they got their try and make sure they'd didn't get an opportunity to kick a field goal or a penalty or have another opportunity to score a try.
I'm repeatedly saying this, the margins are so tiny at the top level.
EC: Does the squad relish a visit to Twickenham?
BO'D: We always do. It's a tough place to go and play. I wasn't involved two years ago but looking at it, the boys started well and then I think they were close to 30 unanswered points. (Ireland lost 33-10).
In recent years we have a reasonably good track record in Twickenham so we have nothing to be afraid of going over there. But at the same time there's a realisation that when England play well they're a very hard team to beat. And with every game that they play together and start putting units together, like (Jonny) Wilkinson and (Riki) Flutey, and combinations like back rows and second rows partnerships, even front rows with scrummaging, all of that, they get better as a team.
No matter how bad England are in their own eyes, or in their media's eyes, they're never a bad team.
EC: Apart from winning matches, which is obviously the priority, is putting on scores, and try scoring in particular, proving to be something of a quandry for Ireland?
BO'D: It's (about) winning games. Even last year, you look at our situation, against Italy we got two really late tries and that was the difference. Because had we lost the game to Wales we would still have won the Championship. Because I got an intercept and we took a quick line-out and Lukie (Fitzgerald) got a score. That was 14 points. I think we had to be beaten by 10 or 11 points by Wales to lose the Championship.
When you look at how close all of that is and when you put it together at the end, you realise that -- and you saw Italy against England this year. They nearly got to within a penalty of winning the game. They shut up shop against us in the second half and didn't really come and play against us and made it hard for us to score. They'll do that with other teams too.
But the Six Nations now is getting tighter and tighter and it's far more difficult to get big scores against teams.
- Eamon Carr
via irishrugby.ie24 February 2010
Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery has lodged an appeal against the extent of his six-week suspension, imposed by an independent Six Nations disciplinary committee which upheld the player's citing after the match between France and Ireland on February 13.
Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery has lodged an appeal against his six-week suspension
The hearing will be held next week before an independent Six Nations appeal committee (details of the personnel to be announced in due course).The Six Nations Disciplinary Officer has lodged a cross-appeal under the terms of the Six Nations Disciplinary Rules, which supplement IRB Regulation 17 for the purposes of the Six Nations Championship.
The Ireland and Lions legends spoke exclusively to The Rugby Blog, reflecting on their defeat in Paris and looking ahead to this weekend’s game with England.
Hutch: What do you think was the key difference between France and Ireland last week?
Tommy Bowe: I’m not sure there was a key difference, the game just didn’t go our way. We went out there with the same desire to win, but made some errors throughout the game that cost us.
Jamie Heaslip: It just wasn’t our day, but we’ll look at the analysis, look at the mistakes we made as well as the successes and fix it for the next match. It wasn’t a good feeling at the end of the game and we were all really disappointed. It was a very quiet dressing room. But we’re upbeat and confident for the weeks ahead. We have to move on and put it into perspective. There’s no need to panic!
Hutch: Did their accusations of ‘cheating’ affect your preparations at all? Was it even mentioned?
Tommy Bowe: No it wasn’t mentioned and it’s not something we’d get embroiled in. Our focus was what we were going to deliver on the pitch and all of our conversations were based on how we’d do that… not what was being discussed off it.
Jamie Heaslip: It wasn’t discussed. We had enough to focus on preparing for the game, so what’s being written in the papers didn’t even register.
Hutch: How will that result change the way you approach the rest of the tournament?
Tommy Bowe: There is still a tournament to be won so as disappointed as we were we’ll take the time before the England game to put things right and put in an improved performance at Twickenham. I have 100% confidence in the guys around me and am looking forward to a different result against England.
Jamie Heaslip: We’re just going to work even harder in training over the coming weeks and focus on the next game. There’s no point dwelling on the past we have to focus on forthcoming matches. We can’t change what has happened but we can influence future performances and as I said it has to be put into perspective – a number of small errors cost us the end result.
Hutch: Did you feel additional pressure going into the tournament as reigning champions?
Tommy Bowe: Not really. I’m sure that there’s a huge expectation on us externally. We obviously want to perform to our best and succeed in the 6 Nations, but we don’t put pressure on each other. We just get on with the job in hand.
Jamie Heaslip: Of course we want to do well and the success of last year was immense, but this is a new competition, a new year so we’re focusing on each match and each opponent and not getting ahead of ourselves.
Hutch: Is it now even more important to get a result at Twickenham?
Tommy Bowe: Of course it’s important for our success in the overall competition, but we’re not going to turn up the pressure on each other. We’ll go about our business and work hard in training over the next few weeks to iron out any of the problems we came up against France. England is always a huge game and it’s always tough going to Twickenham.
Jamie Heaslip: Always important to get a result. It’ll be a tough match but we’re confident we’ll do well.
Hutch: In which areas do you think that Ireland has an edge over England?
Tommy Bowe: It’s a big challenge. England came second in the Championship last year and I think that’s possibly been overlooked. They’re a good side and it’ll be a tough match but they’re the sort of matches you look forward to.
Hutch: Are there any particular areas of the Irish game that you are working hard to improve before Saturday?
Tommy Bowe: As I said before the France game was just a bad day at the office so I don’t think there’s anything that we need to change. We just need to make sure that we cut out the small errors.
Hutch: The World Cup is about 18 months away – how much has that been discussed in the Ireland camp?
Tommy Bowe: It hasn’t really been discussed as it’s such a long way away and obviously we have this competition to focus on right now. I’m sure the coaches have probably discussed it, but for the players we just need to make sure we’re focusing on each match as we come up against it.
Jamie Heaslip: It’s not something that’s been mentioned. We have real depth in squad so I think it’s as competitive as ever and you certainly don’t want to get injured as there’s always a quality replacement to put on the green jersey, but we just need to make sure that we’re performing now and all focusing on this competition rather than next year.
Our thanks go to Puma for organising this exclusive interview – both players wear Puma lifestyle apparel available from www.puma.com
This fixture has become increasingly popular in recent seasons with the Ireland Club side acquitting themselves well in games against England Counties and the Scotland Club side.
Friday's clash is the third meeting with England Counties. The AIB Club International side won the first meeting in 2007 by 20-17, while last year the tie ended in a 13-13 draw.
Munster clubs have dominated AIB League rugby down through the years and this is demonstrated by the presence of ten players drawn from clubs in the province in the starting line-up, including three each from reigning AIB League champions Shannon and newly-crowned AIB Cup champions Cork Constitution.
Cork club Dolphin will also have a keen interest in the game as the lively half-back pairing of Sam Cronin and Barry Keeshan will anchor the side and they are joined in the national team by club-mates Barry O'Mahony and Eric Moloney with Christy Condon on the bench.
Scrum half Cronin has also been handed the captaincy role for the match.
Up front, Shannon's Mike Essex will be joined by Cork Con's Martin Gately and Simon Shawe of Ballymena, who is one of only four players included from outside Division 1A.
Old Belvedere's Richie Leyden is on the blindside flank with John Cleary of Galwegians on the right wing, while UCC's Sean Scanlon will provide cover for full-back from the bench.
All told there are eleven clubs represented in the AIB Club International side - Ballymena, Blackrock College, Clontarf, Cork Constitution, Dolphin, Galwegians, Old Belvedere, St. Mary's College, Shannon, UCC and UL Bohemians.
AIB CLUB INTERNATIONAL Team & Replacements (v England Counties, Stourbridge RFC, West Midlands, Friday, February 26, kick-off 7.30pm):
15 - Daragh O'Shea (Clontarf RFC)
14 - John Cleary (Galwegians RFC)
13 - Eric Moloney (Dolphin RFC)
12 - Evan Ryan (Cork Constitution FC)
11 - Stephen Kelly (Shannon RFC)
10 - Barry Keeshan (Dolphin RFC)
9 - Sam Cronin (Dolphin RFC) Captain
1 - Martin Gately (Cork Constitution FC)
2 - Mike Essex (Shannon RFC)
3 - Simon Shawe (Ballymena RFC)
4 - Paul Huntly (Blackrock College RFC)
5 - Fergal Walsh (Shannon RFC)
6 - Richie Leyden (Old Belvedere RFC)
7 - Barry O'Mahony (Dolphin RFC)
8 - Frank Cogan (Cork Constitution FC)
Replacements:
16 - Aaron Dundon (Clontarf RFC)
17 - Christy Condon (Dolphin RFC)
18 - Simon Crawford (Clontarf RFC)
19 - Hugh Hogan (St. Mary's College RFC)
20 - Cathal Sheridan (UL Bohemians RFC)
21 - Darragh Fitzpatrick (Blackrock College RFC)
22 - Sean Scanlon (University College Cork RFC)
As John Hayes folds himself into the chair, all 6ft 4ins and 20 and a half stone of him, it's not just the inadequate furniture that is rendering him squeamishly uncomfortable.
His aversion to supercilious celebrity would have made JD Salinger seem like a veritable Peter Andre in comparison.
"He'd rather get on, do his job, get off and get home to the farm and rub his cows," smiles Donncha O'Callaghan, as giddy as the rest of us at a rare sighting of Irish rugby's first ever 100-capper dodging the flashlights.
Keith Wood, alongside whom Hayes propped on his debut against Scotland in 2000 -- Peter Clohessy was the loose-head -- memorably described the Bruff man as being possessed of "the personality of a ninja, if not the stealth."
As Bob Dylan wrote of Rubin Carter in another time and another place, Hayes "never did like to talk about it all that much."
He works to live, has never lived to work. Bridging the amateur and professional days has aided mind and body; his seminal lessons with Shannon under Niall O'Donovan, then in Invercargill, New Zealand when 'Doc' Cournane tried the second-row as a prop, remain with him to this day.
He might still be a welder and part-time on the father's suckler farm were it not for the twist of fate that brought a man earthed in hurling terrain to a rugby field.
A day of dubious provenance that has heightened the legend, an anonymous blindside berth in an anonymous 0-0 draw over in Bruff; an unlikely starting point for that incredible journey via New Zealand and back to Shannon.
And from there to here.
odyssey
"I remember that first cap," he offers in a register slightly below that of sotto voce. Shane Horgan, Simon Easterby, Peter Stringer and Ronan O'Gara also debuted on a now storied, red-letter day 10 years ago when Irish international rugby kick-started its unprecedented odyssey of success.
"We've had a special bond ever since. It was an exciting week. You never think 100. When you get one, you want two. I don't know what it is, I was old enough when I started, I suppose."
He hasn't missed a Six Nations game since. He has missed a mere 12 of Ireland's last 112 internationals, mostly due to rest or Lions duty; 96 of them have been starts, the vast majority have lasted the full 80 minutes.
Hayes didn't know rugby existed until he caught a glimpse of the 1991 World Cup on TV.
Twenty years on, and pushing 38, Hayes is hoping to bow out at the 2011 event.
"I suppose it would be nice," he says. Completing the circle, begun by his trip to the South Island with Bruff's then returning Kiwi Kynan McGregor all those years ago.
"I still have a lot of friends there. It's a great country, which really helped me along the way."
So too 'Niallo' at Shannon, 'Gatty' for Ireland, 'Deccy' for Munster. All the while he maintained his equilibrium, cherishing his home life with Fiona and later, daughters Sally and Roisin.
Has his work-life balance reflected the road travelled? "I think so, yeah, I worked for a few years before I turned professional. Since then, even at home, on the farm and stuff, I try to do as much I can. I respect the boundaries, but it's always good to get away. I enjoy it."
For some, the folk image jarred with the harsh professional reality. Yet rarely did flaws prove fatal.
Wood, again memorably, attested that Hayes could run forever, albeit slowly.
His almost superhuman efforts in the line-out are an epic chapter in themselves -- ponder a moment the prospect of hefting 120 kilograms of gangling flesh to something approaching twice your own height, all the while as others scratch and snarl at your shoulders.
His absence is as keenly felt as his presence has been mocked down the years. His height often impedes his scrummaging -- when smaller men can time the hit, it's accordion time. But Stringer's momentous Heineken Cup final try started with a Hayes' tilt; latterly, Ireland's locked scrum on the pip of full-time allowed Brian O'Driscoll the space to squeeze a draw with Australia.
He would be the first to concede, if deep probing were allowed, that his has been a triumph of raw determination over natural talent. "I wasn't a rugby man," he once simply said.
O'Driscoll says all the boys will be behind him on Saturday.
Three years ago, Hayes' tears against England during the emotive Croke Park anthems signposted the history of that day. Might he lead the side out this Saturday?
"I have no idea," says Munster and Ireland team-mate O'Callaghan. "I'm sure Drico will offer, but it's the way Hayes is, he'd have no interest in the fuss of it. The rest of us would be looking forward to it, but not Hayes.
"A fuss for Hayes is probably just talking about it for two seconds. There was no presentation, he just wouldn't put up with it. Sure did you see him in here? You don't get much out of him."
Only everything he's got.
- David Kelly
Irish Independent
Jonny Wilkinson trains with his England team-mates after being named in an unchanged side for this weekend's match against Ireland. Photograph: Tom Jenkins
Professional sportsmen react to criticism in different ways but Jonny Wilkinson is one of life's one-offs. Not for him an angry two-fingered response, nor a hastily booked flight to Australia. Instead England's fly-half, having clung on to the No10 jersey in an unchanged starting XV for this weekend's Six Nations game against Ireland, stood before a politely sceptical audience today to insist that media flak effectively keeps him sane.
Initially, Wilkinson's logic was impeccable as he reflected on the unflattering reviews of his performance against Italy last week. "If you took everything personally, I think we'd all be quivering wrecks on the floor," he said, sounding as if he was talking from experience. When someone asked, however, whether he had found the Rome post-mortems tough to deal with, his reply betrayed a man whose relentless self-criticism will always outweigh external opinions.
"In a masochistic way, I enjoy that that's what life does to me," said Wilkinson, offering a glimpse into the grim underworld of a tireless perfectionist struggling for form. "As much as you might find it difficult to sleep for the first night or two, that drives me. Over the years that's maybe been my advantage over other players. Once I'm out on that field I've got a really deep desire. If I threw that away I don't know what I'd become. I don't think I'd be where I am now. I think the injuries would have killed me off a long time ago."
The chances of Wilkinson throwing in the towel are non-existent. True happiness, he argues, is never being totally fulfilled. "I'm as unsatisfied as I've ever been, in the sense that in every game I've ever played I've never been satisfied. I've been at the same level of dissatisfaction throughout my career. I'll probably retire as the most unsatisfied player in the world. I don't mind coming off the field saying: 'I think I could have done that better.' "
As far as England's management are concerned, the message is loud and clear. Martin Johnson reiterated his belief that Wilkinson – now recovered from the muscle soreness which restricted his training earlier in the week – has been unfairly blamed for the collectively scratchy Italian job. His attack coach Brian Smith went further, claiming certain former players are pursuing "agendas" and that some general sportswriters "don't have the expertise to be critiquing Wilko". In Smith's view, English rugby should be less dismissive of their World Cup winner. "I don't think people have given Wilko credit for his performances. I'm not sure he's being analysed properly. Some of it's driven by people with their own agendas, some of it's bandwagon stuff. The story is either 'Bring back Wilko, he's going to be our saviour' or 'They didn't win by 50, let's hop into Wilko'."
It is a decisive weekend, either way, for Wilkinson and the coaches. In maintaining the status quo, the management are banking on England clicking in a way which has rarely been evident to date. The only changes to the matchday squad are on the bench where flanker Joe Worsley, hooker Lee Mears and full-back Ben Foden replace Steffon Armitage, Steve Thompson and Matt Mullan, with Tim Payne retaining the starting loosehead jersey. There remains a continuing desire to play some rugby if circumstances permit but Johnson is not going to be bullied into doing so. "We're not trying to make up for what people think we didn't do in Rome," said the manager. "This is a new game and we need to approach it that way."
Wilkinson's retention will inevitably invite comparisons with Danny Cipriani's bravura performance in this same fixture two years ago when England romped to a 33-10 win. With Ireland picking Johnny Sexton ahead of the more experienced Ronan O'Gara, Wilkinson's response will be eagerly awaited. Smith suggested the door was still open for Cipriani to return to Test rugby but admitted he would have preferred him to stay at home. "The disappointment is that by going down there he's almost taking himself out of the running. You don't want to see any of your positions diluted of talent. I'd personally prefer our players not to play in France either but it's something we live with."
