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5th February 2020
10:22am GMT
Against Scotland, Conway had five possessions and Stockdale had six. Some of the wingers' biggest contributions were on kick chases, with Conway winning Ireland a crucial penalty in the second half after one belt up-field in pursuit of a steepler.
Jacob Stockdale and Keith Earls did not see much of the ball at the World Cup. The Ulster winger had four carries in the win over Scotland, seven in the loss to Japan and six in the quarter final exit against the All Blacks. Earls had a handful more carries but, like Stockdale, was scoreless in Japan. Neither of the country's most prolific try-scorers crossed the white-wash during that disappointing tournament.
It will take time for Farrell to make his mark on this team but O'Gara would love to see more width and ambition. He commented:
"Because, genetically, we don't have monsters playing the game, we need to play at a faster speed. "The three teams coming out of the World Cup, for me, are South Africa, obviously. They backed their game-plan and you have to admire that. England... I was at that game against New Zealand and it was a tactical masterclass in terms of attacking kicking and finding space. And then giving up hope, as a young coach, watching Japan and how they play as a national team. Their variety of attack is phenomenal. They change the point of attack, clearing the point of attack and their aggression is very interesting. "Ireland need to take a little out of their book, in terms of having multiple threats. But at the minute, it seems to be CJ and Bundee Aki. We cannot seem to go from wide to wide. I understand it being tough in January and difficult with a wet ball, but it wasn't really a wet ball at the weekend. For me, the big one would be tempo."As an example of attacking tempo, O'Gara points out England's opening gambit against Ireland in the 2019 Six Nations, when Jonny May scored after a Manu Tuilagi bust off the back of a quick, and purposely overthrown, lineout. [caption id="attachment_209475" align="aligncenter" width="2048"]
Shane Williams and Ronan O'Gara hosted hosted the second Guinness Six Nations experience in The Courtyard on Sober Lane, Cork. (INPHO)[/caption]
In terms of Ireland's upcoming encounter with Wales, Williams is backing his compatriots to come out on top but concedes it will be a close one.
"This Ireland team are not allowed lose at home," said O'Gara. "That's the mentality they've built and they've the best record at home of all the teams in the past five and a half years."
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