11-07-2025
The tactical tweak which can get Ireland back on track next season
From the moment you touch down at Lisbon Airport, there is a sense of urgency about this city.
You won't have to wait long for a taxi either. There will be minimal delay getting to your onward destination. 'Drive it like you stole it' seems to be the mantra of the cab drivers in Portugal's vibrant capital.
And that frantic pace continues when you walk the narrow, cobbled streets throughout Lisbon. The place is buzzing. It's a hive of activity.
It's a fitting setting for Ireland's second and final game of this summer's development tour. Ireland's Calvin Nash Pic: INPHO/Ben Brady
Last weekend's 34-5 win against Georgia was an impressive result, given the depleted nature of the Irish team on duty and the age profile of Paul O'Connell's young squad.
It was a bit of a grind in the biblical downpours of Tbilisi, mind you. Saturday's clash with Portugal at Estádio Nacional do Jamor promises to be a more lively affair.
The hosts, who are ranked 18th in the world, won't be able to offer the same resistance as the hardy Georgians. Instead, Os Lobos will look to play to their strengths. Portugal won plenty of admirers at the 2023 World Cup with their ambition and enterprise. Lisbon, Portugal.
This youthful Irish team, featuring three debutants, looks born to run as well.
When Andy Farrell's Ireland were at the peak in 2022 and 2023, they were market leaders with their savvy and punchy attacking blueprint. The mixture of Jamison Gibson-Park's breakneck tempo and Johnny Sexton's calm authority were the key components in a game-plan which hummed.
Ireland were a potent team which could punch holes and outmanoeuvre teams. The one thing they did lack as a unit was out and out pace, however. And it's been a key issue during the national team's recent slump.
This experimental Irish team has no such worries. In Tommy O'Brien, Ireland have a genuine speedster on the right wing while Jimmy O'Brien, Hugh Gavin and Shayne Bolton – the pair of uncapped Connacht outside backs – can shift as well.
It doesn't stop there. Ryan Baird has top-end acceleration for a blindside flanker, while Munster openside Alex Kendellen, another uncapped rookie, and Connacht captain Cian Prendergast are pretty nimble backrowers, too. Cian Prendergast of Ireland during the Bank of Ireland Nations Series match between Ireland and Italy at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Is there a more agile second row in the game than Tom Ahern at the moment? The Munster forward has earned his first Test start after making his Ireland debut from the bench against Georgia. Ahern has serious gas and the Waterford man should have plenty of road ahead of him here.
There's more gas on the bench with Cormac Izuchukwu, Ben Murphy and Calvin Nash all very much in the fast-twitch muscle category.
It's a been a turbulent season for Jack Crowley.
There's rarely been a dull moment, for province or country. After a breakout season where the Corkman filled the post-Sexton void with admirable composure, he endured a dip in form. Graham Rowntree's shock exit from Thomond Park didn't help matters.
Sam Prendergast seemingly surged ahead during a dramatic autumn international series. Suspicions were subsequently confirmed in the Six Nations when the Leinster No10 started four straight games before Crowley got the nod for the final-round clash with Italy in Rome. Jack Crowley Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
In between all of this drama, Crowley delivered a statement performance on a memorable day at Stade Marcel Michelin when Munster rolled back the years with one of those trademark backs-to-the-wall performances on foreign soil as Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle were downed in a memorable Champions Cup last-16 encounter. It was Crowley's clutch, long-range drop goal which ultimately secured a memorable win.
There was a collective gasp from the fanbase when word spread that Leicester Tigers were tabling a big-money bid to lure Crowley to Welford Road. In the end, the Munster out-half chose to stay.
Now, he can end this dramatic campaign on a positive note by guiding this young Irish team to a big win in Lisbon. A nice opportunity to remind the Irish management of his quality.
The fledgling all-Leinster frontrow of Jack Boyle, Gus McCarthy and Thomas Clarskson will get another spin this week. It makes a lot of sense. All three emerged from the sternest of examinations in Tbilisi with reputations very much enhanced.
This is another big chance for this trio of young front-rowers to cement their status as viable Test options in the coming years.
This extra layer of depth at hooker and prop will be vital at the next World Cup.
This tour was a nice way of easing O'Connell into the front of house gig. The former Munster and Ireland captain has looked comfortable in this caretaker role with Farrell and Simon Easterby away on Lions duty.
Ironically, there is a school of thought that the Lions backroom team are lacking a coach with the forensic eye of O'Connell on the current tour.
Lest we forget, it was O'Connell who came on board in 2021 – when Farrell's Ireland were really struggling – and immediately brought some bite, purpose and accuracy to the breakdown. The Lions have been suffering with the same ruck issues throughout this stuttering campaign thus far. Paul O'Connell during an Ireland rugby media conference Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
O'Connell's coaching stock has risen even further on this low-key tour. He has blooded a host of new caps and, as expected, if he guides this new generation to a convincing win against Portugal, this summer expedition will be deemed a big success.
O'Connell has enjoyed it clearly. It begs the question, would he fancy doing the gig on a long-term basis in the future when/if Farrell decides to step down after the next World Cup?
'I think maybe one of the reasons I enjoyed it is that it isn't anything I have my eyes on in the short or medium term,' Ireland's head coach said yesterday.
'I might wake up one day and decide I want to do it but it hasn't happened yet.'
O'Connell is surely warming to the task now. He's always been a reluctant coach, but he looks made for the top gig down the line.
He has plenty of momentum behind him now.
