Fans take to Twitter to put Ireland’s ‘caveman tactics’ on blast
In light of Ireland’s loss to England at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, fans have taken to Twitter to criticise the tactics adopted by the home side.
Joe Schmidt’s team have had a very clear and precise game plan over the past year, which they have executed to perfection. Their Grand Slam, series win in Australia and Autumn victory over the All Blacks last year are an indication of how successful they have been. It is a tactic reliant on Conor Murray’s box-kicking supremacy, allowing the likes of Rob Kearney and Keith Earls a chance to compete. This is combined with a relentless physical bombardment from their forwards who slowly grind the opposition down.
However, the strings came undone against Eddie Jones’ men on Saturday, as England’s rushing and brutal defence prevented Ireland from ever gaining any momentum, and forced a number of errors. In addition, England’s back three were able to negate Murray’s kicking, with Jonny May defusing the aerial threat time and time again. What’s worse is that Ben Youngs was able to control the game with his own kicking masterclass, often allowing his own players to compete in the air.
This has caused former Ireland fly-half Tony Ward to demand his country to change their ‘cavemen tactics’ for the rest of the Six Nations. This has been echoed by a large number of fans on Twitter, who have not necessarily called for a change of tactics, but have conceded that England were much more astute in Dublin.
This was perhaps the first time that Ireland’s approach had been dismantled in this manner, and Schmidt will have his work cut out this week as he seeks to remedy the problem. But there is little doubt that the meticulous manager will be able to resolve the problem ahead of the trip to Edinburgh this coming weekend.