JOE SCHMIDT’S IRELAND needs would appear to be at Ulster’s expense at the moment.
With Brian O’Driscoll now ensconced in the media world, the national team head coach needs to settle on an outside centre moving towards the 2015 World Cup and Jared Payne has been earmarked as the potential solution.
The problem for Ulster is that the 29-year-old offers them more influence over games when he wears the 15 shirt. Using Payne at fullback also allows the northern province to have all their best backs on the pitch at the one time.
We can only imagine how Darren Cave felt sitting on the Ulster bench as his side gave up a 22-3 lead to Leicester in just 44 minutes at Welford Road on Saturday.
Not that such an alarming deficit was down to Payne playing at 13. Individual errors elsewhere and a disastrous line-out performance were the main reasons for Ulster finding themselves in an ultimately irretrievable situation.
Indeed, there were actually some excellent moments from Payne at outside centre before he eventually shifted to 15 in the final quarter, including his involvements for the superb Tommy Bowe try.
We also saw signs of progress in defence, such as the excellent read, tackle and turnover assist in the instance below, when Ulster were playing with 14 men.
Other in-contact moments underlined that Payne does have much to offer in midfield for Ulster. That much is already known about a man who has played in the centre for the Blues in Super Rugby before.
The issue is not that Payne isn’t, can’t or won’t be a brilliant outside centre; it’s that Ulster can get more from him at fullback right now, with a huge game against Toulon to come on Saturday in the Champions Cup.
There was a brief glimpse of that with the ghosting linebreak on kick return from Payne at Welford Road just minutes after he had moved to fullback, with Cave coming in at 13.
It’s only a moment, but it indicates all the strengths Payne brings for Ulster as a fullback. With more space on the ball, more time to make decisions and weigh up the opposition weaknesses, he is incredibly incisive.
One of the best things Mark Anscombe ever did at Ulster was push Payne into playmaking responsibility from fullback, giving him a ‘free role’ in surveying the action from a deep position, then inserting himself into the attacking line as a first receiver or demanding the ball to a certain area of the pitch.
Yes, Payne can do similar work from the midfield, but the role of outside centre has greater demands in terms of the breakdown and being in the contact area – less time to assess the pace of the game, positioning of the opposition and his own team’s set-up.
Jared Payne’s Ulster starts:
2014/15 – Four at outside centre, zero at fullback
2013/14 – Six at outside centre, 17 at fullback
2012/13 – Three at outside centre, 18 at fullback
2011/13 – Zero at outside centre, three at fullback
While the line-out problems denied Ulster the chance to really launch Payne in the midfield against Leicester, it was notable that when they did enjoy periods of high-phase possession, there was some difficulty in breaking the Tigers down.
Payne was in and around breakdown, up close to the Leicester defence and generally involved at the coal face. His creative, perceptive and decision-making skills were less effective for Ulster in those zones than they could have been from fullback.
A moment of incision from Payne as Ulster went through the phases could have been crucial.
Cave has never failed the northern province at 13 in recent season, delivering a string of quality performances in the Heineken Cup. He may never prove to be O’Driscoll’s long-term replacement for Ireland, but in Ulster colours he has been vital.
The sense is that a return to the starting team for Cave at outside centre, and shifting Payne back to 15 would give Neil Doak’s side a greater chance of success against Toulon this weekend.
With Robbie Henshaw and Gordon D’Arcy providing strong options for Ireland in the 13 shirt over the next year, perhaps Ireland don’t need Payne in that position as desperately as first believed.
Schmidt naturally has concerns about his depth chart at outside centre, and 21-year-old Henshaw still only has three caps.
It’s easy to understand the thinking in having Payne play in Ulster’s midfield, but the impression remains that Doak can get more from the Kiwi native at fullback.
