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'His leg drive, his ability to not accept a close contact and just go down is pretty special'

By Liam Heagney
Photo by Brian Lawless - Pool/Getty Images)

Rookie Test level back row Caelan Doris was the toast of the Ireland dressing room after his stellar performance was central to the 31-16 over Scotland in Saturday’s Autumn Nations Cup third-place playoff in Dublin. The 22-year-old’s debut lasted just four minutes due to concussion last February against the Scots.

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However, he hung around for 66 minutes in this Nations Cup rematch to pocket the man of the match award on the back of a performance that saw him register a chart-topping 65 metres off 13 carries. 

It was his sixth Test appearance of 2020 – his fifth start – and his ability to cross the gain line suggests he might have shunted usual No8 CJ Stander to the blindside on a permanent basis.

Video Spacer

Johnny Sexton reacts to Ireland’s win over Scotland

Video Spacer

Johnny Sexton reacts to Ireland’s win over Scotland

“Incredible,” said Ireland captain Johnny Sexton when asked to comment on the youngster’s impact at Test level, exposure which culminated in Doris playing an important part in Ireland turning around a 3-9 deficit on 27 minutes to be 25-9 clear on 50 minutes.  

“Incredible year for him to come in and do what he has done. He has just been brilliant. Some of the carries he puts in for a man of his size, he is not a massive, massive man and he just comes out the other side of tackles. 

“He’s got an offload game, he’s got a nice short passing game. Off the base of the scrum, he is very calm and collected, he makes really good decisions when to go, when to pass. I’m not going to say he is the complete player. He can definitely keep getting better but he has had some big performances for us. There is definitely another level in him.”

Ireland coach Andy Farrell was equally effusive in his praise of Doris. “Yes, as impressed as you guys [the media] would have been. He’s some man for taking on one-on-one, isn’t he, and carrying people five metres over the gain line. 

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“His leg drive, his ability to not accept a close contact and just go down is pretty special. He has learned a lot through this period. It was a priceless amount of time for Caelan to be in camp, to be in an international set-up for eight weeks as it is for many others within our group. 

“The learnings that those lads will take from this period is fantastic for us. They have learned a lot about themselves, what it takes to be an international player and perform and be themselves performance-wise in a very pressured environment. It’s one they will reflect on massively and come back bigger and stronger in the Six Nations.”

The win over Scotland meant Farrell signed off with a 66.6 per cent success rate in his first calendar year in charge, six home wins and three away defeats. Asked to assess the past twelve months he said: “A work in progress as it should always be. It’s well documented the number of players that we have used (42). 

“A few injuries along the way influenced that but at the same time, we have grown the group. We have a pretty diverse group during this time as far as maturity, age-wise regarding international rugby. I felt that gap has really closed and we have made some massive learnings. That will stand us in massive stead going forward.”  

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Sexton, who suffered a dead leg against the Scots, added: “Today was a good end to the year. We needed to keep evolving, keep improving and we have.” Yet there was a sense of regret that Ireland hadn’t done better in 2020. 

“We are judging ourselves by the highest of standards. We wish we beat England away and we wish we beat France away.  We learned some valuable lessons, hard lessons from those games away from home. 

“I wish we were in there with a Six Nations trophy under our belt. It was there for the taking and there is no one who hurts more than us when we don’t perform in the big games. But it’s about what you take away from it and there are a few guys who played that day who will take a huge amount from it.”

 

 

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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