Compatible with Android phones and iPhonesDOWNLOAD OUR APP!

SPORT46 | July 13, 2013 The Irish Post

Ireland can channel Lionsfrustration into Grand Slam WOW. The Lions finally

remembered about all thatmacho posturing in the lead-up

to the series and decided they would dowhat they had claimed they would andtarget the Wallaby tight forwards. Andonce they had been neutralised, it wasdiscovered that actually passing the ballmight lead to tries. Who knew?!

A most fortunate series win, downlargely to selectorial clangers fromOstrich Deans and a touch of debutantover-exuberance from ChristianLeali’ifano in the first 42 seconds inBrisbane.

Even if it took 160 minutes of rankrugby to get an effective selection andgameplan on the field, the Lions did winthe series — the history books won’trecord the muddled bench use ofBrisbane or the horrendous kick-chaseof Melbourne, only the 40-burger ofSydney (and that’s not only because thelikes of Stephen Jones write the historybooks).

What is odd, however, is how fewLions will go home truly satisfied withtheir tour. Alun Wyn Jones was Lion ofthe series, for our money, with LeighHalfpenny shortly behind. Adam Jonesand Alex Corbisiero were hugelyeffective in tandem, and George Northprovided plenty of Kodak moments, butwho else will be content?

Of the Irish, Conor Murray arugablyhad the best experience — just twoyears after being fifth choice Irishscrumhalf (behind, among others,Tomás O’Leary), he ended the series asthe standout Lions nine, and if therewere a fourth test, he’d be starting it.

Murray went as a poor-man’s-Mike-Phillips press rep and ended it as a keyplaymaker. Only last year he wasstruggling badly, with McGahan tryingto play him as an extra backrow. He nowlooks like the best scrum half in the SixNations. He’s developed a goodpartnership with Sexton, which augurswell for the future.

Jon Sexton was the only Irishman tostart all three tests, but only really got achance to play his natural game in

Sydney. In the first two tests, he wasreduced to watching kicks, kickingkicks, or lateral shovelling. His kickswere generally accurate, and his chip-and-gathers in the first test showed hisclass, but he’ll have been frustrated bythe gameplan, no doubt a familiarcomplaint for him.

It was no doubt a frustratingexperience (as evidenced by his tiradeon being called ashore for Owen Farrellon Saturday), but in spite of the tactics,he showed sufficient class.

Jamie Heaslip and Brian O’Driscolldid nothing wrong in their two starts,but equally, didn’t provide much in theway of attacking rugby — they weren’tlucky enough to play behind a winningpack, like Faletau and Davies were inSydney, but that will be littleconsolation. Being dropped afterstarting five and nine successive Lionstests respectively (when available forselection) and missing out on a series-winning game will be a bitter pill toswallow.

As for the third Irishman to starttwice, Tommy Bowe can’t have enjoyedthe first three halves of his second tour,chasing kicks and not getting his hands

dirty not being exactly the best use ofhis considerable talents — at least he gotto enjoy himself at the end. PaulO’Connell enjoyed himself at the start,playing a conspicuous leadership role inthe first test before arm-knack ended histour — more frustration.

Aside from those guys, there wasn’tmuch else to write home about. DJChurch (Cian Healy) got injured earlyon, and his replacement, AlexCorbisiero, went on to play a key role inthe two test victories. Rory Best was onthe other side of that fence —beneficiary of an original selections(schadenfreude-laden) misfortune — butBesty had a miserable tour, particularlywith his wayward darts.

Things picked up for him in the finalmidweek match, where the Lions scoreda late try off Tom Croft’s catch at the

tail, thrown by Best, but it’s a case ofback to the drawing board for thisseason. Ireland do not want for highquality hookers right now, and all ofMike Sherry, Sean Cronin and RichardtStrauss will be kicking down the door toget selected.

Rob Kearney’s tour never really gotgoing due to recurring injury (rumourhas it the Lions staff were prettyshocked at his injury situation when hegot to camp, to the extent that theywould not have considered him forselection were they fully aware of it)and Simon Zebo flew in for a fewappearances on the dirt tracks.

Zebo can be a mite disgruntled hedidn’t feature in the test squad whenBowe was injured, and in generalacquitted himself well. By all accounts agenial fellow who gets on with everyone,

he was an obvious player to bring in tothe touring party; another good seasonwith Munster and Ireland beckons.

From a purely Irish (and selfish)perspective, let’s hope that, like in 1983when the luckless Scottish contingentcame home bitter and frustrated at beingoverlooked, the Irish lads can use thispositively in this year’s November series(where they should be targeting at leasttwo wins) and in the 2014 Six Nations.

Thirty years ago, the Scots leveredtheir resentment (at the Irish,ironically) into a Grand Slam — whatprice Ireland to do the same in 2014?Under a brand new and progressivecoaching ticket, there are strong reasonsfor optimism.

And we would love it — love it — ifwe could wipe that smug grin off acertain portly Kiwi’s self-satisfied face.

By Whiff of Cordite

Writing exclusivelyfor The Irish Post

Joyce back in green to face his former England teammates BY NEMESHA BALASUNDARAM

“I’M a born and bred and proudIrishman.”

Dublin native and Ireland’s leadingbatsman Ed Joyce did not hold backwhen declaring his loyalty to his homecountry. This affirmation is welcomebecause until 2011 the outstandingcricketer was batting on a different green.

For four years prior to this the 34-year-old was wearing the three lionsbadge on his shirt instead. On his yearsthat included representing England inthe 2007 World Cup, Joyce said, “I lovedmy time playing for England”, butcontinued, “I’m much happier now…playing for my home country.”

He stresses that there were “no realopportunities to play at the highest levelfor Ireland,” when he made thisdecision, but now “Ireland are playing areally good standard of cricket” in OneDay International (ODI).

Joyce is not the only Irishman to haveplayed for the England cricket team;Eoin Morgan (Dublin) and Boyd Rankin(Derry) have both done so. He believes

the reason for this is, “they both want toplay test cricket and in the next seven oreight years that’s probably not going tohappen for Ireland”.

Not only is Joyce faced with thedemands of international cricket, hecaptains Sussex County. This meansthat he has “duties not just on the pitchbut off the pitch as well”. He admittedthat striking the balance can be “a bit ofa challenge”.

Joyce said: “I would like to be able toplay all of those games and also play forIreland but it’s not doable with thenumber of games that Ireland have.”

In less than two months Joyce willface his ex-England team during theRSA Challenge ODI between Irelandand England. On July 3, Cricket Irelandofficially launched the upcoming matchat Lord’s Cricket Ground, the home ofcricket as it is also known. He waspresent alongside Ireland and Middlesexstar Paul Stirling to promote this highly-anticipated game fixed for September 3in Dublin.

It is set to be the biggest cricket matchever to be held in Ireland; between 10,000-

12,000 Irish and England supporters areexpected to attend. The venue for thiseagerly awaited contest is Malahide’srevamped international ground. Joycerecognised the wider importance of theupcoming contest, "these big one offgames against the larger test nations likeEngland are only showcased to really getnew people into the game”.

Cricket in Ireland remains a nichesport, but when asked what the impactof this game would mean for thecountry Joyce said: “Playing againstEngland in any sport, for Ireland, is ahuge occasion.”

The upcoming ODI, therefore, is seenas a way to elevate the status of thesport, in a country where its popularityis dwarfed by Gaelic games, soccer andrugby.

Despite Ireland being an “aspiring testnation”, Joyce reflects on “the famousnight in Bangalore in 2011 where KevinO’Brien got his great 100” againstEngland and believes that it is possiblefor Ireland to secure their “second bigwin” against his previous team, who arecurrently second in the ODI rankings.

“We would love it — love it — ifwe could wipe that smuggrin off a certain portlyKiwi’s self-satisfied face

CLASS: Jonathan Sexton impressedover the three tests despite beingfrustrated by the Lions’ gameplan.

OLD ENEMY: English-based players Paul Stirling and Ed Joyce will represent Ireland againstEngland in a one-day international in Dublin this September.