Irish eyes fired more with hope than anger

Lock Malcolm O'Kelly, one of the Irish lineout targets on Sunday. Picture / Reuters

It's perhaps as well that this game didn't come any sooner.

Long before the end of the Lions series, indeed pretty much in the immediate aftermath of the first test, Lansdowne Rd on Sunday was etched into the Irish rugby public's mind as the day when there would be the whiff of cordite in the air.

This was all the more so as Brian O'Driscoll had immediately targeted it as a possible test comeback.

"There's a carrot there," he vowed at the time with a smile. In the event neither he nor his counterpart in speargate, Tana Umaga, will be there. A kind of OK Corral without Wyatt Earp or Ike Clanton.

Time heals too, even with serialisation of diaries and belatedly produced amateur videos.

The Irish public would have forgiven, if not forgotten, a whole lot quicker if the fallout had been handled differently at the outset from the New Zealand end.

Ironically, though, it could well be that the Lansdowne Rd crowd will be a good deal more respectful than the Millennium Stadium crowd which vented its spleen at Umaga in particular.

True, there have been knee-jerk suggestions by one notable radio presenter and others that the Lansdowne Rd crowd boo the All Blacks at every turn, from the haka onwards. But not only has this found no favour with Eddie O'Sullivan, but judging by the general reaction, and if the Munster messageboard is any barometer, it could be that many of the Irish crowd will strive not to ape the Lions supporters who drowned out the haka before the second test in Wellington.

The historical resonance of this tour, complete with the trek to Dave Gallaher's birthplace in Ramelton County Donegal, is also a timely reminder than one sour event doesn't undo 100 years of friendly relations.

For sure, mention of Keven Mealamu's name over the public address system is unlikely to meet with polite applause.

But a more appropriate idea, which seems to be gathering momentum, is that the home crowd respond to the haka, either during or after, with a thunderous rendition of The Fields of Athenry - the unofficial Irish rugby anthem adopted in recent years.

In Munster's famed fortress of Thomond Park - venue for the All Blacks' only defeat to Irish opposition, back in 1978 in case you hadn't been reminded lately - observing silence for the kickers is sacrosanct. This hasn't always applied at Lansdowne Rd, but it would be a classy touch if it were on Saturday. Undoubtedly, there is a feeling that Graham Henry and his think tank have shown a lack of respect by selecting what is perceived as partially a second string team.

More pertinently, it has heightened Irish optimism, all the more so with O'Sullivan's relatively daring selection in preferring Geordan Murphy's superior counter-attacking game to Girvan Dempsey and Denis Leamy's greater dynamism to Anthony Foley.

Quite whether Ireland give it a lash, or play plenty of one-pass rugby and allow Ronan O'Gara to kick the leather off the ball, is another matter though.

The weather is also set to remain foul for the rest of the week and, eh, there is no sliding roof in the dilapidated old ground which is due to be knocked down in 2007.

On such days, there is no more capricious ground in the world for kickers than Lansdowne Rd.

With Shane Byrne throwing in to established targets such as Donncha O'Callaghan, Malcolm O'Kelly and Simon Easterby, the Irish lineout should be a darn sight more effective than the Welsh one of last Saturday (the first test disaster last June can be attributed to Clive Woodward and Andy Robinson).

Ireland have a good record in first-up November tests, adding Australia (world champions at the time) and South Africa (Tri-Nations champions a year ago) to the scalps of England and France in O'Sullivan's tenure.

A first win in 18 attempts may well be too much to ask, but without Dan the Man and Umaga, Ireland's supporters will travel to Lansdowne Rd in more hope and perhaps not as much anger as anticipated.

* Gerry Thornley is a rugby writer for the Irish Times in Dublin.