Next week Johnny Sexton will lead out Ireland for their 2021 Six Nations finale against England. It will be his 99th cap.
A former world player of the year, Grand Slam champion and lynchpin of what was briefly the world’s number one ranked team, Sexton has proved beyond doubt that he knows what it takes to be a top team.
He knows you must rise to meet the sink-or-swim moments when the game is on the line; he did that at Murrayfield on Sunday just as he did in Paris three years ago.
He also knows that once the best teams get on top of their opponents, they stay there. And they certainly do not surrender 14-point leads.
“If you have a 14-point lead in international rugby, the next moment is the most important one,” Sexton reflected.
“Top teams take the kick-off, clear their lines and then they put pressure on again. We’re just short of that at the moment.”
It is worth noting that Sexton’s tone in post-match media activities was frustrated as opposed to melancholic. After all Ireland won, having been perilously close to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory they got the job done which, in a game where momentum is king, counts for a lot.
The frustration comes from the fact that Ireland ground out a win they never should have had to grind out.
Fears of Scotland replicating the suffocating, chest-thumping display that saw them conquer England at Twickenham had not come to pass. Ireland, while still not putting it all together, got themselves 24-10 up.
There is no doubt Scotland turned it up a gear after that, but Six Nations teams with the exception of Italy tend to offer some form of resistance during the 80 minutes.
It was as if Ireland had resigned themselves to a backs-against-the-wall finish without considering the possibility of seeing the game out with ease.
“With 10 minutes to go I didn’t see the game unfolding like that but international rugby throws things at you that you don’t expect sometimes,” Sexton said.
“When we’re 14 points up and concede that try it changes the game, we just need to be better there.
“We had that kick-off receive we didn’t deal well with, we had a line-out we didn’t deal well with, we missed a tackle that we should have done better, so as good a team as Scotland are, we have to look at ourselves first and foremost.
“We conceded points to Wales in a similar fashion, two tries after half-time which changed the game totally and similar to us not exiting well enough, missing a tackle, in international rugby you need teams to work incredibly hard.”
O’Connell’s triumphant return
While areas of Ireland’s game still require monumental overhauls before they can be considered top class, there are some facets in which the giant leaps taken in the right direction were on full display in Edinburgh.
Their breakdown work is as accurate as it is ruthless, while their defensive line-out has grown into one of their greatest weapons in a remarkably short space of time.
Ireland came into this weekend’s game with the most line-out steals in the competition – Scotland’s staggeringly low 25% success rate on their own throw on Sunday will only have extended the Irish lead in that particular table.
The plaudits have gone the way of Paul O’Connell, whose return to the set-up has so far been a raging success.
His appointment before the tournament was met with tentative elation, could Ireland’s legendary line-out operator transfer his skills to the coaching box? The answer has been emphatic.
“He’s been top class, that why we brought him in,” said head coach Andy Farrell.
“Paul would be the first person to acknowledge the work that [current defence coach and former forwards coach] Simon Easterby had done when he came in.
“He’ll also be the first to say, regarding the defensive line-out, it’s the ownership of the players that matters. They have drove that side of the line-out superbly well.
“As far as the defensive line-out is concerned James Ryan has really took control of that and stepped up, and that’s what we want from the boys; taking ownership and leading.”
If O’Connell’s involvement has lived up to its billing, the same cannot be said for James Lowe.
The Leinster wing finally qualified through residency last autumn to great expectations. Here was a ferocious ball carrier, as quick as he was strong, seemingly primed to elevate Ireland’s attack.
Not only has Lowe struggled to make the desired impact with the ball, but his defensive work has been put under the spotlight, which will now only shine brighter after his missed tackle on Huw Jones for Scotland’s second try.
“We’ll sit down with James and obviously there’s others that we’ll need to sit down with as well and keep educating them regarding what international rugby is all about,” Farrell said.
“There are guys that are in there that are very young as far as international experience is concerned.
“As far as progressing James’ game we’ll help him like we’ll help everyone else as well.”
Next week Ireland will hope to win their third consecutive game for the first time under Farrell.
England, with their rediscovered mojo, will without question require Ireland to up their game from their Murrayfield display if they are to get the job done.
Sunday’s showing was further proof that Ireland require many forward steps before they are once again considered a top team.
But they won, and an imperfect performance is far easier to stomach when you have four points in the bag.
