David Corkery on rugby: Slam dunked but Ireland can finish as winners

UNDEFEATABLE one day; dreadful the next. People really need to make up their minds. 

Welcome to the wonderful, horrid, and all too often inhumane world of sport.

In the time it took for the ball to drop from the hands of England’s Marcus Smith, hit the Twickenham turf, and make with his boot, the trustworthiness of Irish rugby took a major nosedive and with it went the prolonged future of a handful of Irish stalwarts.

Yes, the very same stalwarts that a few weeks ago people were declaring as national heroes and who were part of a system that had produced the greatest Irish team of all time.

I, like so many others, was devastated when the final whistle was sounded and the English celebrations quickly drowned out the sorrowful moans of the expectant Irish.

LONG GRASS

What was billed as a straight-forward victory against a poor English crop, quickly turned into a magnificent opportunity for those who were waiting in the long grasses to knock all that Andy Farrell and his players have accomplished.

Okay, I will agree that we fell short of the line in the two most important games for Irish rugby since the game went professional in 1995, but this squad is far from done and I think we will see that tomorrow when they are crowned Six Nations champions.

If a team loses a game that they should have won, it is understandable that they will come in for a certain amount of flak, but what really outraged me was the level of condemnation targeted at individual players; especially the stuff published on social media sites by cowards who hide behind the anonymity that the web offers.

I wouldn’t be slow to blast someone for shirking a tackle or not working hard enough around the pitch, but I will always be happy to sign off on anything I write. 

I have even lost a few friends along the way for doing so, but what I won’t do is hold back or hide, and the day I am asked to water down my opinion, is the day I will stop writing.

If you are going to chastise someone at least have the guts to come forward for debate. I can unconditionally tell you now that everyone who was wearing a green jersey last weekend, and had the distinction of representing their country during this game, gave everything they had to the cause.

However, there are days when no matter how much preparation you undertake, or sweat and blood you leave on the field, things will simply not go your way and this is just the way of life.

Three players that I particularly want to talk about are Peter O’Mahony, Tadgh Furlong, and Conor Murray.

As we know, all three have had magnificent careers and considering the amount of milage they have all clocked up, I think it is fair to suggest that their international careers are nearing the end of the road.

They may have a few more miles to travel, but time waits for no man and they certainly don’t owe us, the public, or the game, anything.

After coming on as a substitute Murray was severely criticised for kicking the ball away in the closing stages of the game instead of holding on to it in an attempt to run down the clock. But if the receiving English player failed to catch it, or the Irish chasers worked a bit harder and turned the ball over after they tackled him, Murray would have been a hero.

Captain Peter O’Mahony was 100% deserving of his yellow card, but this was a period of the game when England had assumed control of the arm wrestle and somebody had to do something in order to reverse the white surge.

Unfortunately his actions didn’t sit favourably with the referee and Ireland were reduced to 14 for a 10-minute period, but at least he acted while everyone else looked on.

TIRED

Tadgh Furlong on the other hand just looked tired and seems to have lost some of his uncompromising appetite for the game.

Normally the Wexford bulldozer can be seen rampaging around the park looking for victims to run over, but this bite was missing on Saturday and his play-acting after he was legally cleared from a ruck is not good for him or the game.

Tomorrow is a great opportunity for Ireland to start the ball rolling again and even though the glory of back-to-back Grand Slams is no more than a distant memory, a Six Nations title is something that most of us can only dream about winning.

Scotland won’t lie down, especially after their humiliating defeat to Italy last week, but Ireland’s hurt is far more painful and they are a far superior side.

Scotland’s only true danger will come from the unpredictability of fly-half Finn Russell and flying winger Duhan van der Merwe. However, without possession they won’t be able to do much, and I’d expect Ireland will look to own the ball for vast periods of the game.

Nothing in life is guaranteed and the Titanic shouldn’t have sank, but Ireland are just too good to hit the same iceberg two weeks on the bounce.