Alright time for the post mortem. I'm trying to avoid overreacting because we've always been slow starters under Schmidt
I know the Vunipolas are great players but even still seeing us dominated in the tackle like that was a surprise. Everyone except Ringrose and maybe Josh Vdf (who got through a lot of work but wasn't particularly effective) needs to have a long look at themselves and that includes the coaches.
Healy and Furlong were alright, not awful but they weren't able to impose themselves on the game either. I know why Best is in the team but he offers less then nothing in open play at this point. He's been carried by the rest of the pack and unfortunately that's even more noticeable when the other forwards are struggling. Cronin and Scannell must be wondering what they can do. Porter and Cronin were impressive off the bench and should have been on earlier. Give Porter three or four years and I wouldn't be surprised if he's starting.
Ryan had a decent game, not as exceptional as we've come expect but far from poor. I think Toner was decent, I think he tends to get judged based on the result due to his contributions not being obvious. Roux was alright off the bench but if Toner isn't fit for next week then we we're doomed. (Or we could get get Donnacha Ryan back and put out a Ryan-Ryan lock partnership.)
Backrow were completely outplayed. Van Der Flier got through a decent amount of work and will be far more effective against the Scots. 6 metres from Stander sums is shockingly poor given that he was the main ball carrier there. O'Mahony's one and only contribution to the game was his fight with Sinckler. The main positive from this game for me was Sean O'Brien playing well when he came off the bench. He's been injured so long that I think a lot of people have forgotten how good he is. At his best, he's legitimately one of the best players in the world. He's got to start next week, for me ahead of Stander but really any of the three could hardly complain if they were dropped. I think Conan deserves another shot too, for some reasons that I don't fully understand a lot of people don't rate him but he could have made a big difference yesterday. Leinster tend to be much worse without him.
Sexton and Murray are the best halfback partnership in Irish history by a mile, but they were so f****** bad today. When the replacement hooker creates more than the rest of the team put together, something has gone wrong. Murray has been poor since coming back from injury and I think there's a genuine case to start John Cooney against the Scots. Cooney has a more impressive body of work over the last 9-10 months, and to be honest Murray needs a massive kick up the arse. No one is bigger than the team, even if they're our best ever player in their position. He was lucky to keep his place at Munster ahead of Mathewson, and Cooney was excellent off the bench. I'm not saying it should happen, but if it did I wouldn't complain. Sexton was average but it was his first game in a month so I'd expect him to be better next week.
Aki isn't a top international 12. Good backup to have for Henshaw but shouldn't be a starter when everyone is fit. Henshaw should start at 12 next week. Ringrose was our best player, I'll cry if he's injured. Chris Farrell is a more than adequate replacement though.
Back three was a nightmare, I was cautiously optimistic about Henshaw at 15 but it turned out to be Kearney minus all the good things. Earls was poor. I'd prefer Conway or Larmour next week. Stockdale had some good moments with the ball in hand but after he messed up for the try he seemed determined to score a 60 metre worldie to make up for it and ignored a whole load of passes because of it. He's still young and I wouldn't be surprised if he rips the Scots apart nextnweek. I thought Larmour did a decent job when he came on, he was much better Earls but he came in too far for Slade's first try.
I'm trying not to overreact here because we've always been slow starters to Six Nations and international windows in general under Schmidt, but there's a difference between starting slowly and being comprehensively outplayed at home in more or less every facet of the game, on and off the pitch. If it wasn't for a late try more or less exclusively involving subs that should have been on earlier we'd have lost 32-13 at home to England which isn't an acceptable score.
This is a good thing in the long run though, even if it's beyond painful now. We need changes next week though because a lot of people are looking WAY to comfortable in their jerseys.
