Ireland scrum coach John Fogarty is hoping to avoid a repeat of his Murrayfield “panic” from two years ago when prop Cian Healy had to move to the centre of the scrum and flanker Josh van der Flier was forced to undertake line-out throwing duties.
Hooker Ronan Kelleher and replacement Dan Sheehan were both injured before half-time in the 2023 Six Nations game which led to some improvisation from Andy Farrell’s group of players.
Asked about what he was thinking when both hookers were forced off, Fogarty used some colourful language before quickly adding for public consumption: “It was a nightmare. I was in a little bit of a panic.
“I was talking to Cian Healy and saying ‘you’ve got to keep the brake foot up. And will we do this, and will we do that?'”
Incredibly, Healy promptly won a scrum penalty and continued on in that vein as Van der Flier’s line-out throwing was also largely impeccable.
Fogarty’s principal recollection from the game is how coach Farrell seemed to be revelling in the challenge of it all.
“We came in at half time and I was trying to figure it out in my mind.
“And I walked into Andy and he just goes, ‘this is brilliant’. And he was smiling and he was like way happier in the chaos of what was happening.”
Fogarty says he and fellow coach Paul O’Connor weren’t enjoying the predicament quite so much.
“[I was thinking] Have I spent enough time with Cian [at half-time]?
“There was that little bit of that from me and from Paul. Paul isn’t as cool as you might think.”
However, the Irish responded to the adversity by holding Scotland scoreless in the second half as tries from James Lowe and Jack Conan completed a 22-8 victory.
A week later, the 29-16 victory over England sealed Ireland’s fourth Grand Slam.
“We had a good plan but it was more the playing group. The playing group took any information, were calm enough to go out there and do what an Irish player does and be competitive and stay in the moment.”
