Michael Cheika’s Risky Pair
From the Irish Times of Wednesday, August 26th, 2015. On Australia bringing just two specialist scrum halves (good) and two hookers (a risk that could backfire badly).
Murphy’s Law – “whatever can go wrong, will” – is something Australia coach Michael Cheika is unlikely to take too seriously.
While most teams will bring three scrumhalves and three hookers to the Rugby World Cup, the former Leinster boss will bring just two of each. How likely is Joe Schmidt to do likewise?
While Australia will turn to Matt Giteau if they run into trouble with Will Genia and Nick Phipps in the nine slot, Ireland don’t have somebody of that ilk.
They do, however, have Ian Madigan. The livewire Leinster back has featured at scrumhalf before for his province, filling in ably during a sin-bin period against Connacht at the Sportsground.
The pass was zippy; his movement between rucks didn’t look particularly amiss. It should have made anybody who watched that little cameo sit up and wonder if Leinster and Ireland had been missing a trick all along.
Madigan will need to tick a few boxes – apart from passing from the base of the scrum, he’ll need to have worked on box-kicking, as well as knowing where the ball is coming from the lineout – but the tools are there.
In the same vein as Niall Quinn being Jack Charlton’s emergency goalkeeper – those creative, innocent days before Fifa’s bureaucrats insisted on naming three goalkeepers who can play at that position only – Schmidt should bring Madigan as his third nine.
…
Schmidt is unlikely to copy Cheika’s other squad gambit: the pair of hookers. At first glance it looks an odd move, perhaps even reckless. But is it justifiable? And after murmurings of discontent from England, who jettisoned Dylan Hartley based on their understanding of the tournament regulations, is it legal?
