‘Tactically bereft’ Ireland need to shake off malaise

A week can be a long time in rugby, says Gerry Thornley in his preview of tonight’s Autumn Nations Series game against Argentina in Dublin. Last Friday “there was almost blasé expectations of another November clean sweep”, but with that hope dashed, “danger looms large over the horizon” – Felipe Contepomi’s in-form side are targeting their first ever win on Irish soil, and then there are those sticky challenges against Fiji and Australia to come.
And if Ireland play like they did last week, “then the next few weeks will hold a great deal of pain,” warns Matt Williams. They were, he says, “tactically bereft” against New Zealand having “lost the run of themselves” in the build-up. “They bought into the now debunked theory that New Zealand had grossly declined.”
Nathan Johns picks out ‘Five areas where Ireland need to improve against Argentina’ if more pain is to be avoided, pain outside centre Lucio Cinti is hell-bent on inflicting. John O’Sullivan assesses the progress of the “6ft 3in, ball-playing speedster” who has formed a new midfield partnership for Argentina with Matias Moroni.
There wasn’t a huge amount of experience in the team Heimir Hallgrímsson fielded against Finland on Thursday night due to a lengthy injury list, but while Ireland “rode their luck”, as Gavin Cummiskey notes in his match report, they got the job done. “This group deserves a bit of luck,” said the head coach after, “they have been unlucky for a long time.” Caoimhin Kelleher played no small part in the 1-0 win with his penalty save, the Cork man, writes Ken Early, “maturing into a really outstanding goalkeeper”.
Keith Duggan, meanwhile, previews Katie Taylor’s rematch with Amanda Serrano in Texas in the early hours of Saturday morning, their fight “legitimising the strange and voyeuristic contest between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul” that tops the bill.
Philip Reid brings news from Dubai where Rory McIlroy shares the lead after an impressive opening round at the DP World Tour Championship. McIlroy had something to say, too, about news of the possibility that American players will be paid to play in next year’s Ryder Cup. “I personally would pay for the privilege,” he said.
In Gaelic games, Paddy Tally has been appointed Derry senior football manager on a three-year term, his mission to do what Armagh succeeded in doing in 2024: win an All-Ireland. Niall Grimley insists Armagh are “greedy”, though. “We won the All-Ireland once, so there is no point stopping now, you want more,” he tells Gordon Manning.
And in horse racing, Brian O’Connor reckons that Irish racing going all ‘béal bocht’ about prize money is a hard sell, especially when the sport needs to get its house in order. “There’s an attitude of keeping heads down and hoping the problem goes away. Except, the issue of how best to deal with ex-racehorses isn’t going anywhere.”
TV Watch: Here’s hoping for a happier Friday evening than the one last week gave us – it’s Ireland v Argentina in the Autumn Nations Series (Virgin Media One and TNT Sports 1, 8.10pm). And if you’re a Netflix subscriber, you can see Katie Taylor’s fight Amanda Serrano in the early hours –the very rough estimate is that she’ll head for the ring around three in the morning.