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'It's a constant discussion with Andy': The one thing rookie Test coach Paul O'Connell has found really challenging with Ireland
Legendary Ireland and Lions skipper Paul O’Connell has singled out the one thing he has found most challenging as an assistant coach with his country in the 2021 Guinness Six Nations. O’Connell was recently brought on board the Ireland management ticket by Andy Farrell in a consolidated bid to help secure better results.
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It has been tough going, the Irish losing their opening two matches in the championship for the first time since 1998, and the win last time out over minnows Italy hasn’t diluted the debate as to whether Farrell has the tools to become a successful head coach at Test level after succeeding Joe Schmidt.
Five of Farrell’s twelve matches in charge have been lost since he took charge in 2020 and the ex-England assistant has his hands full trying to improve that record in the coming weeks, starting against Scotland on Sunday in Edinburgh six days before they host Eddie Jones’ English in Dublin on March 20.
O’Connell linked up with Ireland in January and seven weeks into his new job, he has highlighted the biggest difficulty he has found working as forwards coach. “We have very little time,” he revealed. “You’d love to have more time with the players, even in the working week.
“It’s a constant discussion with Andy around how much time you are going to get with the players but that time restriction is probably what makes you keep things simple. It makes you stick to what is relevant rather than trying to cover off everything because you don’t know what a team is going to do from week to week either. You just have to be able to prepare for the unexpected.
This opinion is completely opposite to what ex-Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan alleged about the Scots in December#SixNations #SCOvIRE
https://t.co/n6vbZfUSJQ— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 9, 2021
“So that is probably the biggest challenge, just trying to get time with the players, trying to prepare for I suppose the critical few moments in the game rather than trying to cover everything. Some times you have to go into a game knowing you haven’t everything covered off and knowing that the players are clever enough to solve problems on the go – but I must say I find that really challenging. It’s a challenge for every young coach, they want to cover everything and Andy is good at putting the reins on that.
“You are trying to simplify things all the time and you are trying to see things very quickly and very often the only way you can see things quickly and call it quickly is experience. It’s seeing it time and time again. If the only way you can get the experience is by doing it, it can take a long time.
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“You tend to do a lot of walkthroughs, you tend to watch a lot of footage and try and ask questions. That is how they enjoy learning. The players enjoy talking things through, being challenged, challenging each other and that is a bit of a challenge for me at times. You want to jump in with the answer yourself a lot.
“Even I was watching John Fogarty today [Tuesday], when the scrums were finished he just sat back and let the players talk for about 60 seconds before he said anything himself. They know how to solve the problems themselves very often and if they don’t, the guy beside them probably does. It’s about them trying to learn how to do that themselves and then you can offer an opinion after with the benefit of a video.”
It was 2015 when O’Connell played his last Test match, a serious injury in a World Cup pool win over France precipitating the end of his club career where he was set to join Toulon from Munster. Coming back into the fold with Ireland six years later, two differences have most stood out.
“The biggest change here which happened naturally was the move to the high performance centre in Abbotstown. It just gives you different opportunities to prepare in different ways. We have a gym that goes into an indoor pitch, we have TVs pitchside so we can do a lot of work, we can walk through a lot of things, we can come out of the gym and go to an indoor surface and we can walk through some things and it saves a lot of the work that is done on the field.
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“It gives you a lot more opportunity for clarity. I’d say the biggest change in the five years since I’ve retired is the amount of player involvement and player coaching that goes on. Players are incredibly diligent around the work they do, they take real responsibility in delivering the game plan to the wider playing group based on what your role is within the team.
“So they are the two big things, the HPC has seen a massive change in how we are able to go about our business and the players are very diligent in almost coaching the side themselves as well. Those are the two big changes.”
'You don’t want what happened in the autumn when France played their second or third team'https://t.co/vZWS0OopqF
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 8, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Had hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
6 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
28 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
4 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
28 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
6 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
6 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
6 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
28 Go to comments