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Former Ireland Lock Suggests 'Quick Fix' To Team's Biggest Rugby World Cup Issue

Former Ireland Lock Suggests 'Quick Fix' To Team's Biggest Rugby World Cup Issue
Gary Connaughton
By Gary Connaughton
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When it comes to Ireland and their performances at the Rugby World Cup up to this point, it's fair to say that fans have very little to complain about.

Andy Farrell's side have played some brilliant rugby at times, while the victory over South Africa was one of the most memorable performances in the team's history. In short, they have been excellent.

In saying that, there has been one issue with their play so far in France.

The lineout has been a major area of concern, even in the fixtures against Romania and Tonga. Against the Springboks the team would lose their first four lineouts of the game before regaining their composure.

That is not a mistake they can afford to repeat, especially as we now enter a crunch period in the tournament.

Ireland lock suggests fix to team's current biggest issue

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While Ireland still have one pool stage fixture to play, the game against Scotland will already have all the traits of a knockout tie.

The Six Nations champions may have won their three matches up to this point, but their place in the quarter-final is not guaranteed just yet. In fact, there is a realistic set of results that could see them eliminated after the meeting with the Scots.

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With that in mind, they will be hoping to rectify their issues in the lineout ahead of that one.

Speaking on the RTÉ Rugby Podcast, former Ireland lock Mike McCarthy suggested one 'quick fix' to get things back on track as soon as possible.

In terms of a fix for the lineout, I think it's a small fix. It can be changed pretty quickly.

You go back and focus on areas that didn’t probably work as well, you can imagine the brains trust of Paul O’Connell and Simon Easterby, how those guys work.

One option is just to simplify the lineouts. You saw South Africa doing it a lot, Eben Etzebeth at the front, pre-loaded on a five-man [lineout], like a jack-in-the-box. Knees bent, pre-loaded and as the jumper goes, the hooker throws.

What you sacrifice there is winning the ball at middle or back which is ideal position to win the lineout.

But maybe when the lineout isn’t going well you go to something simple and basic. The menu will be reduced in terms of what’s available, so there’s less to learn and you become more familiar with that menu, and then it’s just repping it in training.

South Africa have a remarkable lineout defence, meaning they were always going to cause problems for Ireland in that area. However, it is obvious that there are some underlying issues that need to be sorted out.

If the team are to make a deep run at the Rugby World Cup, they will be hoping to get it done sooner rather than later.

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SEE ALSO: BOD Says Seeing Kleyn In South Africa Jersey Would Have Boosted Ireland

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