"Knock-on effect" - Keith Wood blames Lions tour burn-out for Ireland's 'poor' Autumn Series start

The following week saw Ireland return to Dublin for a clash with Japan, yet the men in green struggled to get out the gate in the first half against Eddie Jones' side. A heavily scrutinised 40 minute performance was then rectified, as Ireland ran away with the second half to rack up a 41-10 win at the Aviva.

However, with tough Tests coming up against Australia this Saturday and South Africa in a week's time, the demand for better performances is a paramount reaction shared by Farrell, the players, the fans and media alike.

The devoted supporters of the men in green have been left questioning where this Ireland team stands in the current Rugby World Cup cycle. With two years to go until the 2027 tournament kicks off in Australia, Legendary hooker Keith Wood offers a measured perspective.

The former Ireland captain revealed how the British & Irish Lions tour has had a significant impact upon Farrell's side, with a 'knock-on effect' visible upon the 16 selected Ireland stars who donned the red jersey the land down under. Speaking to Vision 4 Sport, Wood said;

"Ireland played badly and actually some of that's poor, but there's reasons why it's poor. Expecting those reasons to be glossed over is to be just sensationalism that doesn't work. There are a couple of caveats that you have to consider first. Let’s start with the Lions.

“There is always a knock-on effect after a Lions tour. And it always takes a bit of time to get back,” Wood begins. “Back in my day, we were straight back into it, and it had a deleterious effect on performance. Now they are looking to try and make certain that they manage the workload of the different players to try and make certain that the players aren't fully burnt out.

"Leinster played one game with a lot of their Lions, and they were undercooked against Munster, who only had one Lion [Tadhg Beirne], they were not undercooked. Against New Zealand they [Ireland] still weren't up to speed. It isn't a lack of fitness, it's sharpness, physical and mental and skill oriented. They weren't quite on their game.

"It doesn't matter who you are, you have to be pretty much as good as you could be, to beat teams like New Zealand and South Africa. With South Africa at the moment, you have to be at almost 100%.”

Despite the criticism in some quarters, Wood is quick to dismiss the notion that Ireland are in a nose-dive decline. “Without a shadow of a doubt, Ireland were below par [against Japan]. It has been immediately written up that they are a team in terminal decline. I don't believe that to be true. I also think we are far enough away from a World Cup for us to be able to rectify any of that, if we were.”

A key factor Wood identifies is the balance between seasoned stars and emerging talent, particularly in the playmaking ranks. “Originally my view was Johnny Sexton played on too long… it wasn’t that he played too long, it's that we relied on him almost entirely for too long. If we'd managed that resource better and if Jack Crowley had played a lot more rugby in that period of time, we could have taken Sexton off sooner and we would have been better.”

Wood stresses the importance of exposing younger players to high-level rugby while not being overly loyal to one veteran. “Loyalty is a two-way street. But you also need to not be overly loyal to one guy. You have to know you're going to drop him from time to time. He has to be able to take it and accept that this is where longevity will come in.”

On the coaching side, Wood highlights Joe Schmidt’s influence and the challenge of modern rugby scheduling. The former Ireland head coach returns to the Aviva Stadium this Saturday at the helm of the Wallabies, with a warm ovation expected for the man who led Ireland to three Six Nations Championships and the Grand Slam in 2018.

However, much like the Ireland players, the Australian side is beginning to falter. Since July, the Wallabies have played 13 Test matches, having gone from their pre-Lions warm-up against Fiji into the three-Test series and then straight into a grulling Rugby Championship campaign which has now been followed up by a five-match Northern Tour. The cracks have shown, as the Wallabies scraped past Japan some 19-15, before suffering a 25-7 loss to England at Twickenham. Then, most shockingly of all, Australia succumbed to a 26-19 defeat against Italy out in Udine this past weekend.

“He's a master technician and he is very good at putting a game plan in place… but it is tiring. They [Australia] have played a ludicrous amount of rugby. I still can't get my head around a lot of the bullsh*t of the amount of international rugby that's being played now.”

Ultimately, Wood’s message is clear: Ireland have challenges, but they are manageable. “We’re not in the right place at the moment, but I'm okay with all that. I would trust the fact that the guys would make the changes that are necessary. That's my reading of it.”