Ireland's November international series was something no one expected, a clean sweep and with Ireland up to 3rd in the world is a great position for us looking towards a World Cup year. That doesn't mean that Ireland's three games went smoothly, and we learned a lot about our team and where we stand. Here is what was surprising about Ireland's November international series.
Beating South Africa
There weren't many loud folks that were predicting an Ireland win all those weeks ago. South Africa had just beaten the previously unbeatable New Zealand, and with Willie le Roux adding an unpredictable dimension to their attack, they were expected to steamroll Ireland on their way to a European Tour grand slam. Cue the ridiculous optimism that precedes most Irish rugby letdowns.
How Ireland won was also surprising:
Ireland's maul defense
There are two things we did know going into the South Africa game. The first was that the former forwards coach for Ireland, John Plumtree, had tranformed Ireland's maul and maul defense. The second, that South Africa have the best maul in the world. What we didn't count on was the ingenious tactics behind Ireland's maul defense. By not engaging the maul, Jack McGrath was legal and allowed to rush up around the Springbok pack and make a tackle. This completely negated a Springbok strength and enforced several turnovers for Ireland.
Lack of offloads
When you think of Joe Schmidt pre Ireland, you think of an attractive style of rugby. Both his Clermont teams and his Leinster teams were highly adept with ball in hand, and offloads were used all the time. Sure there was a highly intelligent gameplan used to exploit weaknesses in the other team, but the style of play was free flowing and attractive. Ireland under Schmidt are also extremely intelligent in their gameplans and structures. But Schmidt has employed a far more risk averse strategy and managed to beat South Africa with a grand total of zero offloads.
Rhys Ruddock
The impressive Leinster flanker started the November international series as a replacement, but an unfortunate health scare for Chris Henry parachuted him into the starting lineup. Many weren't sure if the Leinster man could handle himself at this level, but he performed extremely well in the circumstances. His try was a just reward for his all round display, and his performances could have guaranteed himself a place in the Ireland World Cup squad. At worst, Ruddock has given us all confidence that he can do a very good job against opponents as strong as South Africa or New Zealand when called upon.
Joe Schmidt's health hint
We all know that nothing can stop Joe Schmidt, but his sense of humour, even in what must have been a painful a torturous time for him is quite something. We, as a nation, had no idea about the state his appendix when he gave this interview, and his closing line of it can now be viewed in wonder. What a man.
