Under the stewardship of Andy Farrell, Ireland have become one of the most innovative teams in world rugby, with their diverse attack rarely failing to deceive even the most aggressively defensive sides.
While under the direct management of Farrell Ireland's attack has become renowned for its clinical adaptability that was never present in by-gone teams, its steady yet consistent defence is often attributed to the sheer determination and work rate of Ireland's pack. So far in the Six Nations, only France have conceded less points than Ireland.
However, therugbytrainer on TikTok has identified a clever trend in Ireland's defence that suggests it could be an awful lot more innovative than initially meets the eye.
Analysing Ireland's recent win over Scotland, the rugby coach pointed out how by swinging into the defensive line on the chop tackle, Ireland wreaked havoc with Scotland's attempts to protect their own ball - giving Ireland's jackals a crucial extra few seconds to get over the top of the ruck and force a penalty for holding the ball.
@therugbytrainer Is this a trained tackle technique or just a by product of the Chop Tackle? #TheRugbyTrainer #rugby #sixnationsrugby ♬ original sound - The Rugby Trainer
While some speculated that this could merely be attributed to Ireland's return to the chop tackle, the swing is not only traditionally unnatural for a tackler, but also consistent throughout Ireland's game in all areas of the field, and marks a distinct separation from how most other Six Nations are tackling while still allowing Irish players to vacate the ruck without being penalised.
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Interestingly, the same technique has been applied to a similar effect by Leinster plays who are not regularly involved in Irish action, begging the question of whether this (if intentional) is the birthchild of the Irish staff or Leinster's new famously creative defence coach Jacques Nienaber.
What do the numbers say?
Regardless of where it originated, what do the numbers say?
Firstly, after two rounds of action, Ireland still sit fourth in the standings for breakdown steals at six. three behind first-place England. That said, against both England and Scotland Ireland have been significantly more dominant and enjoyed the more valuable possession, negating the need for as many steels.
More insightfully, the numbers back up a very intentional effort on Ireland's part to contest as many rucks as possible, with their arrival at defensive rucks the second-best in the tournament, just marginally behind Italy who again have been required to defend a lot more significantly than Ireland.
Ireland also lead in tackles missed and in the percentage of tackles missed in the opening two rounds of the tournament - a possible factor of the above technique which while effective in disrupting the defensive ruck, is less effective at protecting the gain line like the type of dominant tackle that has become synonymous with players such as Garry Ringrose, and often needs a second or third tackler to put the man down.
One of Ireland's chief offenders in missed tackles this tournament is Sam Prendergast, who has so far fallen off seven. While some of this is likely the result of heavy mismatched runners targeting his channel, in the 40th minute (5.25 below) moments before Scotland's first try, the Ireland out-half does appear to try a similar technique but ultimately fails to hold the ball carrier.
While this could merely be a missed tackle, it raises an interesting question about how Ireland are approaching defensive efforts, and how despite having more missed tackles than any other nation, are unbeaten and have conceded less points than every nation bar France.
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