Ireland Analysis: The Loop pass

I get so frustrated when watching Ireland score with ease against teams. They don't see to setup that many rucks, but yet they are very effective at creating space out wide or even able to break the line. You don't see them break out in the tram lines like New Zealand does, nor do you see them break through the middle. 

So this is where I would like to hear from you, how should the boks beat them. 

Ireland played a very similar style to Leinster, and we know Leinster is beatable. 

So let's look at their play. 

The always seem to have a pod or a diamond in the midfield, sometimes 6 players compressed. The first receiver has options, he can either tip the ball or pass it out the back to a flyhallf. Note, their flyhalve never takes the ball directly from the 9. 

Then, in this diamond they have a strong forwards that stay on their feet. Because the area is crowded, defences get splintered because the defenders have to weave in between players. I personally believe that this is obstruction and I'm surprised not more defenders held the ground and allowed the dummy runner or the shield to make contact with them. If a defending team can prove that they are running obstruction then this whole system will collapse. 

Now, back to the diamond, so the line is fractured, players have to try hit the ball runner. Almost every Irish forward has a bit of a step, so they glance the tackler and maker meters. But not that they are now behind the defenders and have enough numbers to create a quick ruck. 

So in the the first Irish try against Ireland, the diamond was flatter, but with quick hands they were able to to get Aki free to run in for a try. 

Now all of the other tries can via the diamond, defensive line gets fragmented, defenders go pas the ball and are off side. The wider defenders now have to come in to try and cut down the overlap, but every single time there is a player out wide, unmarked. 

In comes the loop bomb. I really well time fast loop pass. Almost every player in Irelands backline can pull that off. It is like they practice that play. The ball is always a perfect loop pass and it is not from one player but many that does it so well. It finds the wide player and that the winger or backline player has to do is just to step inside. 

If the pass is a bit too wide, they are happy to boot it on the boot. We saw Mac Hansen do it. 

I just can't believe that England didn't pick up on this trend and figured out how to shut them down. 

I do hope Rassie and Nienaber have figured this out. Lowe is not the fastest winger and neither is Hansen, but they are really strong on their feet and can step around players quite easily

Thoughts of how we can nullify the Irish and beat them in the World Cup?

I'll have a look at the video a little later; good idea for the post.

Some things I have noticed about Ireland. They don't like to attack too far from the previous ruck, this is actually a good idea. They are keeping play in areas where they can recover if play breaks down. They also install lots of options, most notably pins. They have runners holding the interior, and challenging the defence man on man and/or the spaces between them. Their pods function more like a midfield. They have their various arrangements of units and layers that will attack wider. By challenging the defence head on and wide, they only have to then take what the defence gives them. It's very clever, very efficient, and relies then on reading play and execution. It empowers the player to make decisions. It's the complete opposite of us. We blunder with dead end on off runners and shuffle the ball wide to try a run around the outside. Against badly arranged defences and passive defences, you can get away with it. Ireland has the most dynamic model right now. 

Ja, it is very effective and well drilled. Every team is struggling to contain them at the moment. They weren’t even playing at full tilt, just went through the motions and scored 5 tries. 

But that final wide loop pass, 3 well timed passes. I see it happen so often for both Leinster and Ireland. 

Maybe they way Faf shoots out the line and perhaps trap the first receiver is key, but they have enough players to recovered. 

This is also another why I hate the bok and the bulls attack. 

They always give to a big forward with another on his back, trying to bash it int channel 1, but often has little impact and turn over the bal. 

our forward just want to bash over the defender but our only forward with decent hands is RG, although, Kolisi did really well to free his hands and off load to Marx for our first try

That's the thing, if you rush, they have the inside option, they'll inside step you, or have their pod slip a pass in contact to free another forward past the rusher. We are quite reckless with our rushes, and they'd have ripped us apart the way we have defended thus far. The Welsh challenged the edge enough to have raised red flags. They lacked the synergy to punish it, but it was there. Being dual threat on pretty much every ruck is hard to defend. And if they have to take contact and reload they aren't far away from resources to secure possession and do so. It's very smart. The question is, can they get the WC monkey off their back? That's their last big hoodoo to break.

Bashing isn't always a bad thing. I don't know the Bulls of the past few years well, bit traditionally (in my time), they were the more dynamic in the use of their forwards. Power was there. They like to crash one way, suck in defenders, and reload for the attack in the opposite direction. They had a line break to try ratio of 1:1 for one a season. The problem with the Boks is that they just bash, reset, go one way, bash, reset, kick. Or shuffle it aimlessly wide and crash. Just to move the ball to certain parts of the field.

Ireland is too boring to win the RWC...we and Scotty to kick them out of contention this year...again!...GO SCOTTY!!!

It's in their hands. A mental game now. Can they show their worth? We need some gifts to make the final. It's never as people expect, so we'll have to see how these unexpected events work for us. 

Nice analysis Corn…..I think this point is important:

‘Almost every Irish forward has a bit of a step, so they glance the tackler and maker meters.’

The Irish runners are blocky types and hard to put away and tend to at least compromise the first tackle. Why shouldn’t a prop be able to step to make the tackle less certain. They are also always looking to offload.

That style of forward running is so much more productive than our charge into the first tackler and arm wrestle at the ruck. Wiese could be effective at  the Irish style….Dud is too much of an easy target.

As it stands we don’t have a forward running game.

Ireland in tears...sorry Stav...saw it here first...

The Irish are good and a pleasure to watch of late.

But they haven't gotten any better since they narrowly beat us in Ireland. Do we need to talk about that blatant forward pass again?

I feel that the Boks have gotten better and have the advantage of having added a ridiculous amount of talent to our squad since then.

Where they have shone against other teams but won't against us, is in collisions. We're simply more violent, man for man, than they are.

...and if you're not winning collisions, everything falls apart...as it almost did for them in November.

We'll slow them down, win the fight in contact, on the ground, and at set piece...likely gassing them in the second half. I think our starting front row is the strongest in the competition.

I'm not saying they can't beat the Boks...I'd give them a 25-30% chance.

I'd give them less of a chance were I confident in our kicking.

...but who knows? There's always that magical whistle and WR insatiable desire to "grow" the game.

I remember still at school rugger using that kick over the top for the wing on the tram lines. 

Has to be used more these days with the line defence as mentioned. Suppose more pressure on the kicker is the best route, deploying as you say FAF to cover that angle. 

...but who knows? There's always that magical whistle and WR insatiable desire to "grow" the game

Getting the excuses in early I see. 

Stav, I call ref errors and favouritism when it benefits the Boks too.