Joe McCarthy was destructive on a night when he highlighted why Andy Farrell and Paul O'Connell rate him:
WHETHER OR NOT Joe McCarthy goes to the World Cup, his future with Leinster and Ireland is clearly bright.
McCarthy’s power was evident from the opening exchanges in Dublin, with his first carry of the game showing his threat. His acceleration is sharp and he fires up a fend on Italy openside Manuel Zuliani, then shows good fight to eke out more metres in contact as Ryan Baird and Keith Earls assist, the Ireland wing taking out the Italian tackler’s right leg to destabilise him.
Crucial is how he slows his feet before taking the pass from Caolin Blade, ensuring he’s not receiving the ball in a static position. McCarthy is good at this, timing his arrival onto the ball consistently well. Ideally for an attacking maul, that seam between jumper and lifter is completely watertight but McCarthy floods through and when he’s in the position below, Italy know they’re in trouble.
Ruzza realises he won’t get fully clear of McCarthy’s grasp but that the Irish lock doesn’t actually have the ball itself wrapped up just yet. McCarthy breaks through the same space as before and this time picks the ball off before Negri has even got it into Ruzza’s hands. McCarthy jumped for one lineout win against Italy, while also doing some good lifting, as for Baird’s crucial lineout steal just before half time.
It’s key to stress that every scrum is a collective effort and there’s no doubt that McCarthy and Furlong don’t deserve all the credit here, but it was impossible not to see that their side of the scrum was extremely powerful when they were on the pitch together.
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