An Aging Hero

It seems that, Roger Federer, one of the greatest tennis players of our generation may have won his last Grand Slam. Federer (32) is now in the twilight of his career and has struggled to compete with the likes of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who were dominant in the Grand Slams of 2013.

Federer was expected to perform much better this season. He was beaten in 5 sets in the semi-finals at the hands of Andy Muarry in the Australian Open. A semi-final appearance was a good start to the year however; the Swiss native was to be shocked in the French Open at the quarter final stage by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.     

After easing through the first round in Wimbledon, Federer was expected to ease towards the semi-finals due to the shock exit of Nadal in the first round. This was not the case as Federer was once again disappointed, this time losing in the second round to Sergiy Stakhovsky.

This result at Wimbledon was possibly the worst result for Federer this calendar year, as well as being his earliest exist from a Grand Slam since 2003.  The fact that Wimbledon is played on his favoured surface, makes it all the more worrying. So often known as the ‘king of grass’ it is certainly a worrying sign for the former world number 1.

At the final slam of the year, the US Open, he was once again was shocked by an early exit, this time by Tommy Robredo. Overall this year has been a poor year in terms of Gland Slams for Federer, as it is the first time since 2002 that he has failed to reach a Grand Slam final. As well as this, the consistency that Federer had shown the previous decade was diminishing.

Federer is now coming towards the end of his career and although he says he wants to continue playing for many years, a lot of people feel it will tarnish the legacy of the 17 time Grand Slam champion. There is no denying his quality as a player, but 5 set games are a gruelling task against the best players.

Federer can still beat the best. There is no doubt about that, but there is a doubt that he can do it twice in 3 days. To win a Grand Slam, as the seeding’s stand, Federer will have to play Nadal and Djokovic in the semi-finals and final, the 2 top players in the world right now.

It is a tall order, even for someone like Federer. Only 4 players have ever won a Grand Slam in the professional era that has been over the age of thirty. It is for this reason that, at 32, Federer’s best days may be behind him. However, he has proved time and time again he is the best of all time, and will hopefully show the doubters, class is permanent.      

All Blacks Break Irish Hearts

Ireland’s rugby team was snatched victory in the final seconds at the hands of the All Blacks on Sunday afternoon. The men in green were 30 seconds away from possibly the biggest win in their history, but had it cruelly taken away from them with a converted try from the New Zealanders in the last play of the game, at the Aviva Stadium.

The start was immense from the Irish. Tries in the first half from Conor Murray, Rory Best and Rob Kearney gave Ireland a 19-0 lead inside 30 minutes. What was most impressive about this half hour was the fact that the Kiwis rarely got into the Irish 22. It was at that moment that the team, and the fans, dared to dream about beating the All Blacks for the first time in history.  

But there is a reason that the All Blacks are World champions as well as the number 1 ranked team in the world. They pulled a try back before half time through Julian Savea, which left the score at half time 22-7 going into the break.

However, the second half was dominated by the All Blacks and a try from Ben Franks as well as a penalty from Aaron Cruden put them within 5 points of the Irish. It was not to be for the Irish in the end as an exhausted defensive outfit leaked a converted try, scored by Ryan Crotty, in the last play of the game, to break Irish hearts.

The devastation in the eyes of the Irish players at the final whistle is something that will live long in the memory. Yet the performance of the Irish in all aspects of the game is something that they can be very proud of. They showed aggression in the tackle, as well as this the execution of attacking plays was exemplary. This was a truly memorable performance.

When looking at this game one thing is abundantly clear, Ireland lacks consistency. If you compare this performance against the Kiwis to the showing against Australia, it is a drastic improvement. On their day, Ireland can compete with the best in the world, but that one off performance is not enough to become a world class outfit. These performances need to be seen on a more consistent basis.

Next up for Ireland will be the Six Nations, and it could well be the most highly contested tournament for years. Strong showings from England and Wales this calendar year as well as a strong performance from Ireland in the autumn tests, bodes for a competitive Six Nations. The first test for Ireland is Scotland, where they will be hoping to get early points on the board.    

Ireland Given Reality Check

After a disappointing performance from Ireland against Australia last Saturday next up for the men in green are the All Blacks at the Aviva stadium on Sunday evening. It is a game that, as history tells us, we have never fared well in, and it seems that that trend will not change come the final whistle.

Ireland slumped to a 32-15 defeat against Australia last weekend and possibly the most worrying aspect of this game was the fact that the score line flattered the Irish in the end. This humbling defeat highlighted the issues and limitations in this Irish team. The most notable of these issues was the scrum.

Australia, for the past three years, has been the weakest outfit out of the southern hemisphere teams, bar Argentina. Their weakness in the forwards was plainly highlighted against the Lions last summer. Despite an array of back line talent such as Will Genia, Israel Folau  and Adam Ashley-Cooper they have struggled to get the necessary platform from the forward pack to give these skilled backs attacking momentum.

Therefore it is clear that to beat the Australians you must be dominant in the scrum as well as in the breakdown. Last Saturday Ireland showed that they do not have the capabilities to dominate an average pack. Ireland allowed Australia to dominate every aspect of the game and Ireland rarely threatened. The Irish were bullied up front and seemed like a team that was short of ideas.

There were some notable themes throughout the game. Garry Owen's up the middle proved ineffective; being collected with ease by, the faultless, Folau. An area that Ireland were expected to dominate was the set piece, but the tone was set by two sloppy drops in the line-out from both Paul O'Connell and Devin Toner. As well as this Ireland were penalised 6 times in the scrum against an average pack, which plainly shows Ireland’s frailty.

Next is the challenge of the All Blacks in the final Autumn test. This is a daunting task for even a team in form but from a team in transition such as Ireland it is the toughest challenge. Dan Carter will not feature for the All Blacks through injury yet despite this fact they still possess and array of world class rugby players. It will be the toughest challenge for the Irish team this calendar year and will take the performance of a lifetime to leave the pitch with a victory.

Life after BOD

Once again the evergreen Brian O’Driscoll gave a faultless performance on Saturday evening in Irelands 40-9 victory over Samoa at the Aviva Stadium. Ireland romped to the win with 2 tries from Dave Kearney as well as tries from Peter O’Mahony, Sean O’Brien and Fergus McFadden. But the moment of the match was O’Driscoll, and his magical piece of skill to set up O’Briens try. His through the legs pass set alight a match that was severely subdued beforehand.

 This is once again an indication of the vast ability that BOD possesses not just to break through defences but also inspire the teammates around him. However the question still remains how Leinster and Ireland are going to replace the 4 time Lions tourist.

It is a fact; O’Driscoll is playing his last season of professional rugby. And it is plain to see that the same question is on every fans lips ‘who is the next number 13?’ For 15 years O’Driscoll has been an ever present from both province and country and has been a constant factor in some of the greatest moments of Irish rugby.

 These moments included him being named player of the tournament in the 2009 Grand Slam winning year as well as being top try scorer in that historic tournament. For all these accolades it is clear that the former Blackrock schoolboys presence, on and off the pitch, will be sorely missed.

There were many attempts by former managers for both Leinster and Ireland to find a replacement for O Driscoll. One of the prime examples of this in recent years was the attempts of Declan Kidney to move Keith Earls from the wing to the centre. But this attempt was unsuccessful for the former Ireland and Munster head coach as Earls simply did not possess the necessary defensive awareness required of a centre.

Regardless of the failings of previous management teams to find a replacement, now is the time to get it right. Brian O’Driscolls tenure in the number 13 for Province and country is coming to an end, so now is the time to weigh up the options. The emerging Brendon Macken, at Leinster, is an extremely promising option.

Another product of Blackrock College, Macken has shown good attacking ability as well as good defensive maturity for someone so young. His performance against the Ospreys for Leinster at the Liberty Stadium showed that Macken has discipline as well as the creativity to unlock a defence.

Another option to look at is Connacht’s Robbie Henshaw. Henshaw has gone from strength to strength at Connacht after making his debut for Ireland in the summer at the tender age of 19. This is something extremely promising for Connacht and Ireland compared to a few years ago where it certainly seemed there would be a massive void in the Irish midfield when BOD finally called it a day. It now seems that although there will never be another O’Driscoll; there is still reason to look forward to the future.           

Question mark at 10 for Leinster

On Saturday evening, Leinsters new signing Jimmy Gopperth gave a match winning display kicking 6 out of 6 penalties against the Ospreys. This in turn has raised the question of who will be Leinsters starting number 10 this season.

Originally, at the start of the season, Gopperth was signed as the clear second choice to Irish international Ian Madigan. However a poor performance against Muster and the undeniable kicking skills of Gopperth led to the former Newcastle Falcons man getting the starting berth ahead of Madigan at the Liberty stadium.

This is a welcome headache for Coach Matt O’Connor, however it was not something that was expected at the start of the season. Standing in the shadow of Johnny Sexton for so long, Madigan showed his potential last season. He was Leinsters top try and point’s scorer in a successful double winning season.

However if there has ever been a question about Madigan, it has certainly not been his ability with the ball in hand; it has been his ability from the tee. This doubt is nothing new to Madigan who has experienced it before at a much younger age.

While playing for Blackrock in the Leinster Senior cup Madigan missed a kick in front of the posts in the last minute to win the game against Kilkenny College. After that game Madigan suffered serious confidence issues with the boot for years, but had a very good average last year in the absence of Sexton.

This is one of the possible issues that O’Connor faces. Although Madigan kicked well last year he was, by all accounts, second choice. This year he came in as number one and although his game time has been low he has not yet put in a performance anywhere near the quality of last year.

With regards to Gopperth it is very clear that he has not come to Leinster to simply make up the numbers. His performance against the Ospreys was the perfectly executed and faultless. However the most impressive aspect of his game is his goal kicking, winning the golden boot in the Premiership 2 times in a struggling Newcastle side.

Gopperth started against Castre a week later and is expected to retain his place for the upcoming crunch ties against Northamption and it is clear that Madigan will need to regain last season’s form if he is to dislodge the New Zealander. However this in turn could bring the best out of Madigan which can only be good for Leinster and for Ireland.