Murray Kinsella reports from London.
JOHNNY IS WELL able for the heat; so goes the message from Ireland camp again this week.
The French looked to stick a shoulder in on him two weekends ago, but Eddie Jones took things much further this week by bringing the 30-year-old’s family into the matter.
Given Sexton’s fiery rugby personality and the strength of his response when Jones’ comments where put to him, the expectation is that Ireland’s out-half will be highly motivated in Twickenham today [KO 4.50pm].
Johnny is pissed off and he doesn’t need anyone looking after him.
“If I put an arm around Johnny he’d definitely be wondering what’s wrong,” says Ireland captain Rory Best with a laugh. “Johnny’s got a very strong personality, he’s got an unbelievable will to win. He’s a competitor, he doesn’t need an arm put around him.
He’s the guy that puts the arm around boys and makes sure that our standards [are high enough]. He’s a good gauge of where our standards are because he expects the highest of standards.
“Whenever he’s reasonably happy – because he’s never happy – you know you’re in a fairly good place. In terms of all that, there’s been a lot of made, you know, teams have targeted Johnny or said they’re going to target Johnny and I’m sure that will continue in the future. He’s a big boy, he can deal with it.”
Best and Ireland know that gamesmanship and mind games are part of the gig now, and though they will have been privately angered by Jones’ outpourings this week, they have maintained a disinterested response publicly.
It’s personal in Twickenham this time, but those assertions are for the changing room in the minutes before kick-off.
Instead, Ireland have been pushing their excitement at welcoming two outstanding young players into the Test arena today. Josh van der Flier and Stuart McCloskey may also be joined by Ultan Dillane off the bench to complete a trio of new caps in London.
“Stuart’s a quality player, a big kid and he’s very cool, calm and collected,” says Best of the 110kg centre. “He’s just a handful to deal with. I’ve seen him first hand a lot in Ulster and, if you give him a bit of space, he can be a handful because he’s probably what the modern rugby player is. He’s tall, he’s big, he’s strong, he’s got good skills.”
Van der Flier, meanwhile, is one of the special players who appears built for the international game.
“You can sort of tell with these players,” says Best. “Like when Conor Murray first came into the Ireland squad as a young kid. He wasn’t the best player there but you could tell there was just something about him and it’s the same with Josh.
“There is just something about him that you know he is going to be a quality player and to have trained with him, he is one of those players who is very easy to train with because you know if you ask him to do something he will do it.
Whenever we talk about getting our stuff right and our detail right you know he is going to be one of the guys that very, very rarely makes a mistake and for somebody that young it’s a great trait to have.”
Best is similarly excited about the prospect of playing with Connacht lock Dillane if Schmidt gives the former Tralee RFC man his shot. It’s that excitement that has perhaps given Ireland fans increased confidence this weekend after the draw against Wales and defeat to France.
Ireland’s playing style has once again been a major talking point in the last fortnight, with some even suggesting that the performance and game plan are more important than getting a result in Twickenham.
Jones has insisted that Ireland kick the ball too much, clearly worried about their effectiveness in this department, while the Irish rugby public is baying for an ambitious, risk-taking and offloading approach in attack.
Sometimes one wonders whether this constant criticism of Ireland’s tactics actually affects the players on the pitch. For example, the atrocious weather conditions against France should have seen a kick-heavy game plan but Ireland seemed hesitant to use the boot at times, actually kicking less than they had against Wales.
“Look, I think for us as a player group the most important thing is that we have faith and all the confidence in the coaching staff,” says Best when asked if outside perceptions ever make Ireland’s players question their approach.
“We know we have it in each other as a player group but we have so much faith in this coaching group and just because one person said it a year or two ago and then people run with it and people throw statistics out, that doesn’t affect us.
Our confidence in the coaching staff and what they’re doing and where we want to go and how we’re evolving is unwavering as far as I’m concerned. I know the playing staff are exactly the same.”
More pertinent for Ireland than any great tactical shift will be sorting out the scrum issues that greatly damaged their hopes of winning against Wales and France. This may even be priority number one this evening, with the return of Mike Ross to the XV and Cian Healy to the bench providing a level of comfort.
“For us, we’re trying to scrummage straight and legal and do everything we can. So if it’s interpreted the wrong way it’s our issue and we have to take the referee and the touch judges out of it and sort it out, basically, on the pitch,” says starting loosehead Jack McGrath
“It hasn’t gone great in the first two games. I think it will be a little bit different this time because England actually want to scrummage properly.”
The forecast is for a dry day in London, which should allow Ireland’s attacking intent to show up to a far more accurate degree than at Stade de France two weeks ago, though Schmidt and his men are sure this battle will be founded in the usual places.
“At the moment, it’s certainly about territory, your set-piece being really good, your defence being really good, and then trying to break these defences down,” says assistant coach Greg Feek.
“If you looked at the Super 18 games [this weekend], there were plenty of points scored, but when we’re in this environment here and it’s so intense and it’s such a physical battle, then talking to the guys that come up and play Top 14 and Premiership and even when the All Blacks come over, it’s certainly roll the sleeves up and get down and get physical.”
Ireland will relish that task and it will have been made all the easier by the barbs thrown their way by Jones all week. It’s become personal and though the odds are against them, Best and his men will feel they can do their talking on the pitch.
To the captain goes the last word.
“If you need any extra motivation other than playing for your country at Twickenham, for me you’re in the wrong changing room.”
England:
15. Mike Brown
14. Anthony Watson
13. Jonathan Joseph
12. Owen Farrell
11. Jack Nowell
10. George Ford
9. Ben Youngs
1. Joe Marler
2. Dylan Hartley (captain)
3. Dan Cole
4. Maro Itoje
5. George Kruis
6. Chris Robshaw
7. James Haskell
8. Billy Vunipola
Replacements:
16. Jamie George
17. Mako Vunipola
18. Paul Hill
19. Courtney Lawes
20. Jack Clifford
21. Danny Care
22. Elliot Daly
23. Alex Goode
Ireland:
15. Rob Kearney
14. Andrew Trimble
13. Robbie Henshaw
12. Stuart McCloskey
11. Keith Earls
10. Johnny Sexton
9. Conor Murray
1. Jack McGrath
2. Rory Best (captain)
3. Mike Ross
4. Donnacha Ryan
5. Devin Toner
6. CJ Stander
7. Josh van der Flier
8. Jamie Heaslip
Replacements:
16. Richardt Strauss
17. Cian Healy
18. Nathan White
19. Ultan Dillane
20. Rhys Ruddock
21. Eoin Reddan
22. Ian Madigan
23. Simon Zebo
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