With Ireland only three days away from their potential Six Nations Championship decider with Scotland questions remain about the side's defensive game plan, having conceded seven tries and 59 points in the opening three games.
One man who is concerned about the state of Ireland's current defensive setup is former Connacht fullback Gavin Duffy, who believes Ireland will be in trouble out wide if they defend against Scotland as they have done up until this point in the tournament.
Speaking at Off The Ball Heineken Rugby Club Roadshow at Buccaneers Rugby Club in Athlone, the now retired Duffy believes the problems start at the ruck, but are then seen out wide as play transitions there.
"As a lot of commentary has suggested, it's getting very tight in and around the rucks. Then when we're under pressure when teams hold that width against us we're then getting off the line so quick, but we're still so tight that the guys on the outside edge then are left in all sorts of trouble, and we're making bad reads then".
"We saw Stockdale shooting out for Shingler's first try when really he should have just backed off and forced Wales to make the decision".
Duffy claimed that while that appears to be the case, it's not being helped by Ireland's constant changing of personnel in the backline due to injury, as it's disrupted the chance of having some defensive understanding and trust in the centre partnership.
"Some of it is due to the combinations, they're changing week in week out in the 13 channel and the wingers, which is difficult to get right and get that trust in a week without any contact. Then some of it is just lads making bad decision when we're under pressure. Just back off and sometimes you just have to give up the gain line".
There will have been two weeks off between the Wales and Scotland game when it rolls around this Saturday. Though the snow has disrupted training somewhat, there has been ample time to fine tune the defensive system, though Duffy believes a change in game plan, even a slight one, could be beneficial if the opposition pose a threat out wide.
"If that is the system, to defend so narrow, well then maybe the system has to change from game to game, or just tweak it for different opposition or in different situations at times".
Duffy noted that those outside of the camp can't be fully sure what the system we're aiming for is, but claimed the narrow system isn't anything new for Ireland, referencing the Argentina loss in the 2015 World Cup as a time it's been exposed.
"You'd need to be in the room I think to know exactly what the game plan is. You can see from an overall picture that they are getting tight, and that's been traditional. Even if you go back to Argentina in the World Cup, we knew going into that game that they were going to go wide, wide. They'd been playing great rugby leading in to that game, and we were torn asunder by Argentina just going out the back. We were so soft in the outside channels".
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