As Ireland were busy perfecting Plan A, which was pretty damn good, Wales for months, even years, were perfecting Plans B and C, writes Irish Times rugby analyst Liam Toland.
"So the All Blacks have made it into the semi-final, so too the Wallabies; predictable? Wales have travelled an unbelievable distance in a few short months, making their arrival slightly less so but that France have made it into the semi-final requires our attention. A team that is dysfunctional in its selection, struggling to know what it wants but can turn it on “periodically” when required demands us to take notice. Irish rugby should take notice.
"Tomorrow the Wales-France outcome is far too unpredictable, almost immaterial, as either side is more than capable of winning. What I’m interested in, from an Irish point of view, is how will the plans go? The Irish Times headline last Monday read, “Kidney feels the hurt after Wales execute perfect plan.” A plan is only perfect if you are allowed to execute it. Why? - because we can never completely predict the actions of the opposition and must plan accordingly. What happens when the plan goes awry and how much influence will rest on the number 10s when it does?"
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