Ireland’s ultra-accurate and physical breakdown work is, outside of our counter-transition mechanics, the core definition of this team.
When Ireland are efficient at the breakdown – above 95% retention rate with 55%+ underneath 3 second – Ireland win, in all but the biggest outlier games, like the first test against the All Blacks back in July. This game against Wales was no exception to the rule, let’s put it that way. Wales had a mix-and-match approach to their defensive breakdown that did nothing except slowly edge them closer to the Irish meat grinder when the game was in the balance. By the time they got a hold of things, the game was already over.
IRELAND’S OFFENSIVE RUCK WORK SCORE VS WALES
- A Dominant Clean is an action that decisively secures possession when the ball carrier takes contact. A Dominant Clean does not have to be the first arrival at the breakdown but it is rewarded in the context of effectiveness. We will assign this action 3 points.
- A Guard Action is where a player plays a role in helping to retain possession after we have “re-won” the ball on the floor. Sometimes this can happen on a carry/ruck point where there is no active contention by the opposition. Let’s assign this action 2 points.
- An Attendance can be anything from standing as a “kick shield” on a ruck to adding a bit of bulk to ward against a counter-ruck. I’m marking this down as being worth 1 point.
- An Ineffective Action is a blown cleanout, a lean, a breakdown penalty or an action that I couldn’t see any direct benefit for. This will be worth -2 points.
| Dominant Clean | Guard Action | Attendance | Ineffective | Ruck Work Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porter | 5 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 43 |
| Sheehan | 2 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 37 |
| Bealham | 1 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 33 |
| Beirne | 8 | 6 | 1 | 34 | |
| Ryan | 5 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 29 |
| O'Mahony | 4 | 15 | 1 | 43 | |
| Van Der Flier | 3 | 29 | 2 | 2 | 65 |
| Doris | 4 | 21 | 4 | 58 | |
| Murray | 2 | 4 | |||
| Sexton | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Lowe | 1 | 2 | |||
| McCloskey | 4 | 7 | 1 | 27 | |
| Ringrose | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 20 |
| Hansen | 3 | 6 | |||
| Keenan | 1 | 7 | 1 | 18 | |
| Herring | 0 | ||||
| Kilcoyne | 1 | 2 | |||
| O'Toole | 2 | 3 | 1 | 13 | |
| Henderson | 1 | 7 | 2 | 19 | |
| Conan | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| Casey | 2 | 6 | |||
| Byrne | 1 | 3 | |||
| Aki | 2 | 3 | 12 |
Top Five ORW Scores
- Josh Van Der Flier – 65 points
- Caelan Doris – 58 points
- Andrew Porter/Peter O’Mahony – 43 points
- Dan Sheehan – 37 points
- Tadhg Beirne – 34 points
Josh Van Der Flier’s breakdown output was typically machine-like with a massive 29 guard actions that typified his reading of the game. Van Der Flier is very rarely stressed when it comes to his breakdown work and the vast majority of his entries are quick, efficient snap locks as opposed to slightly out-of-control cleanouts.
Caelan Doris is the same – heavy guard action usage but with slightly more impactful entries. His numbers are really impressive too, especially when you consider he’s got zero ineffective entries. Those ineffective entries really dragged down James Ryan’s score to the lowest of all the starting forwards who played 80 minutes. A really poor spell in the middle third dragged his numbers down considerably and it’s no surprise to see that corresponded with Ireland’s dip in scoring right before halftime and well into the fourth quarter. His poor numbers dropped his Wally Rating score to three stars.
Tadhg Beirne’s work was, again, of the highest standard with a huge total of dominant cleans with only one inefficient entry. He maxed out huge numbers in just 53 minutes. That output was matched by Peter O’Mahony who had the second-highest ORW score when he left the field after 59 minutes in a bit of a masterclass showing of breakdown instincts and efficiency. As a result, I bumped his Wally Rating score to a four-star performance.
