David Corkery on rugby: Line-out issues are hugely concerning, Ireland still have a lot to improve on

If rugby games were decided on levels of bravery and commitment to the crest, Japan would have won at least two World Cups and be ranked in the top three on the world on a regular basis.

As long I have watched the Japanese, or the Brave Blossoms as they're appropriately known, nothing very much has changed.

Heroic, honest, quick and technically efficient, they are crowd favourites and a pleasure to watch. The only negative is that they are probably too gracious and courteous towards their opponents. In the world of international and professional rugby, there is zero room for compassion.

Maybe if they could saturate themselves in some of South Africa’s ruthlessness, their win-to-loss ratio would dramatically improve.

Last weekend in the somewhat circus-like venue of Chicago’s Soldier Field, Ireland fell to defeat against an average All Black side. They did so with some worrying aspects in their general play. Those issues were present during the Six Nations and seem to have gone unattended during the summer break, such as the line-out.

On the same weekend, South Africa were busy racking up a 61-7 victory against this Japanese side. While Rassie Erasmus and his players were far from perfect, they never looked like the inferior team which cannot be said after Ireland's display on Saturday.

Let’s call a spade a spade and acknowledge that Ireland were never going to lose this game.

These are the types of games that are never going to be defined by the score, but more so by the level of accuracy and performance that the better side produces.

SHAMBOLIC

Once again, Ireland's line-out was shambolic and the level of confidence required by the waiting back-line was a million miles off from where it should be.

So tiny are the margins the modern game now offers, unless half-backs like Craig Casey and Jack Crowley can be fully confident that their forwards are going to produce a top-notch supply of clean ball, they will end up second-guessing themselves.

Munster and Ireland great Paul O’Connell is fully responsible for the Irish line-out. He is not the one throwing the ball, lifting or jumping, but it is his job to sort this out. 

If we can’t at the very least win our on ball against a side like Japan, O’Connell needs to be called out on this.

On at least three occasions, it looked as if the players didn’t even know where the ball was going before it left the hands of hooker Ronan Kelleher, which is just dumbfounding for a side with Ireland's resources.

On a positive note, the Irish scrum improved dramatically, albeit the opposition from last week to this cannot be viewed as parallel.

Tom Farrell, who I was thrilled to see getting capped, probably didn’t have the required platform to show his true potential. I just hope that Andy Farrell and his advisers offer the 32-year-old another opportunity for him to show what he can do.

Heading into the dressing rooms at half-time, you would have to say that Ireland were probably lucky to be leading 17-10. Were it not for Japan’s Charlie Lawrence receiving a yellow card for a high tackle on Farrell, Ireland could easily have lost the opening period.

From what I believe, Andy Farrell read the riot act to his players during the break and it looked to have made a difference.

Ireland's game management in the second half looked to be a whole pile better and it seems that everything they were trying to do in the first half was broken down and simplified.

Instead of looking to throw long balls to the tail of the line-out where many parts have to align, a simple throw to the front was executed, giving their playmakers something tangible to work with.

There was no way in hell that the visitors were going to be able to maintain the same kind of tempo they started with. As soon as the subs appeared, Ireland started to find the gaps that weren't there in the opening 60 minutes.

Three tries for Ireland in the closing 15 minutes painted a very false picture of how this game played out. 

Unless Farrell and his charges find another 50% in their overall performance, they will struggle against the Australians next week and be demolished against the Springboks the week after.