The last leaves will fall on the Test careers of a trio of greats on Saturday, international autumns turning to winter after one last outing in Rome. How the Irish tree has grown since Conor Murray, Peter O’Mahony and Cian Healy first put down roots a decade-and-a-half ago; one last trophy lift for wizened limbs may now appear unlikely but three arch competitors deserve a winning finish.
A drubbing by France was nobody’s idea of a dream Dublin denouement but let it not be said that the trio have not given every last drop for their national side. It remains faintly remarkable that each has ploughed on deep into their 30s, long after their international obituaries could have been written. Each centurion will go out on their shield to herald the end of an era in which the nation’s relationship with the sport has been transformed. At the time of Healy’s first Ireland call-up, the men’s national side had gone almost 25 years without a championship crown and 60 without a grand slam; 17 years on, title number seven remains mathematically possible.
Each has embodied the spirit of the side in their own, distinct way. Loosehead Healy, who turns 38 this year, has been a great survivor, no man more meticulous in getting, and keeping, his body right. His role may have diminished in recent years but there is a reason that Andy Farrell, and latterly Simon Easterby, have persisted beyond his apparent sell-by date, a prop demanding neither fuss nor favour even as the records have come.
And then there is O’Mahony, the s***-houser’s s***-houser. Few have ever mastered the skill of skulduggery quite like the flanker, tiptoeing the line between licit and less so for the advancement of his team. But to overly focus on his gamesmanship would be to underestimate one of the most complete back rowers of his generation; at a time where the traditional blindside flanker has been eroded by tactical trends, he, Courtney Lawes and Pieter-Steph du Toit stand alone for their combination of breakdown nous, lineout skill and defensive strength.
A British and Irish Lions captain his Munster mate may be but Murray perhaps achieved the greatest heights. A rugby player sent out of central casting, scrum half felt an unlikely home for a man of such stature but few at the position have ever blended size and skill quite so well, Murray the architect with hand and foot for the golden era of Joe Schmidt’s attacking scheming. “He was one of the best in the world for the guts of 10 years,” Jamison Gibson-Park, who has proved a fitting successor, effused this week. “I used to watch on and when I first arrived in Ireland, I was kind of amazed at how good he was really.”
How Ireland would have loved a last grand slam as a fitting farewell but a Six Nations near miss nonetheless prompts questions about the trio’s long goodbye. One does not become a bad rugby team on the back of a single defeat to another outstanding side, yet in a tournament lending itself to hyperbole, each game mattering and meaning so much, the reactions to France’s dismantling have strayed towards the hysteric.
Two defeats in three Six Nations seasons is an outstanding record; the fact that a three-peat will, in all likelihood, remain an unachievable feat is evidence of a championship as challenging as any across the sporting landscape. Yet there will be those who wonder if Ireland might have been hoisting the prize had they begun a needed refresh a little sooner, those who ask whether the exuberance of youth shown by France could have been matched by the defending champions – or, even if not, whether the long-term gain of putting time into the next generation was worth potential pain in the short-term.
The gamble taken for this campaign was that squeezing one last crusade from the old guard was worthwhile; a Lions summer a natural time to reset, retool and grow again. It is not just the departing trio over which the inexorable advancement of years poses a concern, but Bundee Aki (34), Tadhg Beirne (33) and others, too. It would be wrong to suggest that talent is not coming through – injuries to Craig Casey and Cormac Izuchukwu have left a leaner looking list at scrum half and six respectively – but a rebuild, clearly, can take time.
Murray and O’Mahony’s departures will also create further noise around the throughput of international stars not drawn from Dublin. It is not necessarily the worst thing to be heavily reliant on a single club or system given the natural benefits of cohesion that a Leinster-dominated squad will have, but it would be wrong not to worry about the bigger picture if the homogeneity continues. There are many in Munster who feel their stars are looked upon unfavourably by the hierarchy; of the 14 central contracts handed out by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) so far for next season, just three have been signed by non-Dubliners.
The discussions and debate over such a monopoly will only intensify with news of Leicester’s push for Jack Crowley, who is set to start his first game of the tournament in Rome. The Tigers are desperate for a fly half with both Handre Pollard and Jamie Shillcock departing at the end of the season, but have been left short of options in a market slim on proven performers after much movement at 10 around Europe last year.
Having already seen Ross Byrne agree a deal with Gloucester, the IRFU will not wish to see their depth at the position further eroded. But the offer on the table from Leicester is said to be significant; what resources will the union be willing to commit to a playmaker that, in this campaign, they have made clear is their second choice to Sam Prendergast?
All of which is to say that the outlook may not be so optimistic, even if Ireland have got so much right in this last half-decade. It is easy to forget that similar thoughts were prevalent in the wake of their 2019 World Cup disappointment, when Joe Schmidt’s squad appeared to be on the decline before Farrell enabled them to peak again. But a farewell to three stalwarts is a natural time to consider the path back to the mountaintop and the potentially tricky terrain that lies ahead.
