Ireland and Wales meet on Saturday in Dublin to determine the heir apparent to England for the Six Nations crown. Matches between the two have in recent years been brutal even by the overtly physical nature of modern international rugby, but the route to victory has usually been in the sky.
Ireland’s kicking game, led by Johnny Sexton – who was nursing a sore back in training on the eve of the match – and Conor Murray, is as resourceful as anyone’s, including New Zealand. When South Africa pitched up at the Aviva Stadium last November with a back three who had not played a Test in Europe, they collapsed under the aerial assault and Wales, who were hit by injuries in that department at Twickenham in the last round, have gone for experience, knowing what to expect.
“Ireland’s kicking game is a big part of their strategy,” said Neil Jenkins, Wales’s kicking coach. “It is varied and intelligent. I spent last summer with their outstanding half-backs on the Lions tour: they are always alive to everything. They keep the ball in hand a lot but kicking will be a massive part of the game, deciding who controls the position and territory. It is all about scanning, communicating, understanding how they defend and manipulating it to your advantage.”
When Jenkins was Wales’s fly-half, the role of a kicking coach revolved around advising on technique from the tee, or a mound of sand as was the case then, and sometimes punting to touch. It was part-time and specialist but today it is all-encompassing, beginning with restarts, and a significant part of every side’s coaching make-up. Jenkins spends hours watching other sports and has attended an Australian rules football training session to study how players challenge for the ball in the air.
“It was all about technique,” Jenkins said. “They jump as high as they can and in our game having backs who are comfortable kicking and receiving kicks is a huge part of the game. Kicking strategy has evolved because defences are so good: it is a way, like passing, of finding space. We are always on to the players about utilising the space behind the defence through chip kicks or little grubbers. It is not about kicking for the sake of it but for a reason, making good decisions.”
The first of England’s two tries at Twickenham came directly from a kick after Owen Farrell spotted Josh Adams off his wing and Wales had one disallowed after Rhys Patchell’s chip resulted in Gareth Anscombe making contact with the ball over the line but not to the satisfaction of the television match official. Last November, England were struggling to put away Australia until Danny Care came off the bench and sabotaged the Wallabies’ rush defence with a series of delicately weighted kicks in behind.
“You have to put the scrum-half under pressure,” Jenkins said. “We did that against Ireland last year: if you give their half-backs a free ride only one thing will happen.
“We are trying to move on and evolve our game, but there are times when you have to play the percentages. We played well against Scotland but Twickenham was a different level: the first try we conceded came from their box-kick which showed you have to be good aerially. Mike Brown made metres against us because we did not clatter him and were on the back foot. It is not just about the catchers but players running lines in front of them to make it hard for opponents to get through.”
Wales have Leigh Halfpenny returning at full-back, while Liam Williams, who played there for the Lions in the three Tests against New Zealand, returns to the wing. Dan Biggar, a tactical kicker to rival Sexton, has recovered from a shoulder injury two weeks earlier than expected and has been brought back into the side at the expense of Patchell who was targeted by the England head coach, Eddie Jones, in the buildup to the match at Twickenham.
“Dan is like Johnny Sexton and Owen Farrell, players of vision who have a great work ethic,” Jenkins said. “They desire to be the best and they make other people better. Rhys will learn from Twickenham and, while not everything went his way, he kept coming. He has to continue to believe in himself and realise how good a rugby player he is.
“When I was playing I saw off other 10s who were perhaps more skilful because I was mentally strong. When something is done, you learn from it and move on to the next one. Eddie must have been worried Rhys was going to have a good game and at this level temperament counts for so much. Rhys has given us another option at 10 and he has years ahead of him.”
Biggar is the only Wales back without a Scarlets connection but the combative Osprey will be the one calling the shots. His game developed during the Lions tour when he stood flatter and mixed up his options; he only missed out on Test days because of the high quality of his rivals. Wales will need his energy and drive against opponents who have won nine Tests since their last defeat, in Cardiff 11 months ago, and who are unbeaten at home in the Six Nations since 2013.
Defeat would all but end Wales’s title challenge while Ireland, whose injury problems mean they have only seven survivors from the side who started in Cardiff last year, would have to win at Twickenham on the final weekend.
It was not that long ago that when these two sides met it tended to be for the wooden spoon, but they have since reached for the skies and kicked on.
