'His leg drive, his ability to not accept a close contact and just go down is pretty special'
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.
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.
“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.
PLAYER RATINGS
Caelan Doris had his Test debut ruined against the Scots with a fourth-minute concussion last February but he more than delivered against the same opposition ten months later #AutumnNationsCup #IREvSCOhttps://t.co/JAW2fMz5yL
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 5, 2020
“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.
“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.”
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.”
2020 ends how it started for these teams, Ireland beating Scotland in Dublin#AutumnNationsCup #IREvSCO
https://t.co/hZnNCKbie7— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 5, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Like others, I am not seeing the connection between this edition of the Crusaders and the All Blacks future prospects under Razor. I think the analysis of the Crusaders attack recently is helpful because Razor and his coaching team used to be able to slot new guys in to their systems and see them succeed. Several of Razor’s coaches are still there so it would be surprising if the current attack and set piece has been overhauled to a great extent - but based on that analysis, it may have been. Whether it is too many new guys due to injuries or retirement or a failure of current Crusaders systems is the main question to be answered imo. It doesn’t seem relevant for the ABs.
3 Go to commentsharry potter is set in stone. he creates stability and finishes well. exactly what schmidt likes. he’s the ben smith of australian rugby. i think it could quite easily be potter toole and kellaway for the foreseeable future.
5 Go to commentsThis is short sighted from Clayton if you ask me, smacks of too much preseason planning and no adaptability. What if DMac is out for a must win match, are they still only going to bring their best first five and playmaker on late in the game? Trusting the game to someone who wasn’t even part of planning (they would have had Trask pinned in as Jacomb preseason). Perhaps if the Crusaders were better they would not have done this, but either way imo you take this opportunity to play a guy you might need starting in a final rather than having their 12th game getting comfortable coming off the bench.
1 Go to commentsThanks 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.
21 Go to commentsWhat a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
3 Go to commentsI wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
5 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
7 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf 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.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to comments