If defence is to be the deciding factor in the World Cup, Ireland will be among the contenders, but if the destiny of the tournament comes down to attack, they will not be in the mix. They scored seven tries against a side containing part-timers, but their play was more wooden than wondrous.
Ireland were always going to win and the bigger battles are to come, but for all their strength and organisation at forward, they need pace to supplement the vision of Jonathan Sexton. Luke Fitzgerald added some variety in midfield, but they were resolute in defence, withstanding pressure either side of the interval and conceding their try to an interception.
Canada started boldly, attacking the line through Nathan Hirayama and Nick Blevins and stretching Ireland. It did not last, but for 10 minutes there was a semblance of a contest and Canada had an opportunity to take the lead on nine minutes but Gordon McRorie did not have the distance from a penalty just inside his own half.
It took Ireland 13 minutes to score their first points through the boot of Sexton and their mechanical approach, telegraphed loops and miss-passes, left Canada in little doubt defensively. Indeed, they coped with little discomfort until their captain, Jamie Cudmore, was sent to the sin-bin for conceding his team’s third penalty in a minute at the breakdown.
By the time Cudmore returned, Ireland had scored three tries. The first came from a lineout that was formed as the second row was trudging off. Canada dealt with the initial drive, but Iain Henderson, who had earlier wasted an opportunity when ignoring two unmarked players outside him, set up the flanker Seán O’Brien.
Henderson scored the second seven minutes later after Ireland failed to secure a pushover from a five-metre scrum. Sexton then had the pace to score from 40 metres after Canada failed to read an inside pass from O’Brien. When Dave Kearney secured the bonus point six minutes from the break, it looked ominous for Canada whose earlier shape and vigour appeared to be in a state of collapse.
They thought they had scored with the final move of the half when DTH van der Merwe crossed in the corner, but on review Hirayama was ruled to have thrown the ball forward in the buildup. The crowd, 5,000 short of capacity, jeered as heartily as if the team in red had been Wales.
Ireland found themselves a man short 90 seconds after the restart when their captain, Paul O’Connell, came out in sympathy with his fellow veteran Cudmore and had a stint in the sin-bin. His offence was not as clear-cut, however, intercepting a pass in the Canada backline as he ambled back into position.
It evened up the game for a while and Ireland had the opportunity to test their defence. Canada opted for a lineout from the penalty O’Connell conceded and laid siege to the line without having the power or width to find their way over it. The game stagnated and even Sexton became sloppy, fly-kicking carelessly, misplacing passes and kicking directly into touch.
As the spectators started to indulge in the Mexican wave, there was little point in keeping Sexton on the field and he was replaced after 55 minutes. It took Ireland a while to recover their second-quarter momentum and the second period was scoreless until the 67th minute when four tries came along almost at once.
Sean Cronin scored the first after Ireland took play through several phases but, as Canada looked like being whitewashed, Van der Merwe picked up Jared Payne’s kick ahead and ran 50 metres to the line. The scoreboard credited the try to the replacement prop Djustice Sears-Duru, perhaps checking they had got his name right, but at the moment the ball was touched down he was some way behind play.
It was then that Canada collapsed. Keith Earls covered 50 metres on the counterattack before supplying an inside pass to Dave Kearney and Payne brought up Ireland’s half-century of points after Ian Madigan’s break. Henderson was denied a second by the video referee after the final move of the match and despite the scoreline it was not unfitting that the final moment saw Rob Kearney pass the ball into touch. It was a comfortable victory for Ireland, but not a particularly impressive one.
.jpg?w=600)
