WHEN YOU HEAR Declan Kidney talking about rap-offs and when nobody in the room groans as Jamie Heaslip mentions Bose speakers, you know Irish rugby [in 2013] is in a good place.
It is as rare as an uncomplicated banking explanation for an international rugby manager to name an unchanged squad, let alone team.
Following the attack first, defend with your life second, victory over Wales in Cardiff, talk of a new direction and upbeat mood in the camp appear genuine.
While Ireland will hope to maintain the state of euphoria – the euphoria that heals shoulder injuries and dead legs – against England, the spectre of last year’s 30-9 filleting at Twickenham looms large.
Asked during the team announcement if he has reviewed a copy of the St Patrick’s Day mauling, Heaslip revealed that he had not watched the game in full.
He remarked, “It was only last year but the amount of rugby that has been played since then is ridiculous.”
Heaslip added,”I haven’t really looked back on that England game a whole lot, to be honest. It was grim enough in the changing room afterwards. It was a tough place to be. Not a proud moment.”
Tribiani
With a buoyant mood in the came, TheScore.ie asked the Irish captain if he had hidden a copy of the game in the freezer, much like Joey Tribiani did with a copy of The Shining, which he was fearful of, in the sitcom Friends.
“Ah no,” he responded, “it wouldn’t be like that.”
Heaslip added, “You wouldn’t be looking at the game as a whole. When you’re doing a review of these teams, you have to get through a lot of footage. It’s cut up into scrums, lineouts and their plays off that, and individuals… it’s quite segmented. You can dip in and dip out.
“The games are all there. They’re there for the last two years. You wouldn’t look at the whole game as one.”
YouTube credit: bnfirocks
Continuing on with the pop culture theme, Heaslip was asked if he planned any more movie referenced speeches in the dressing room before Sunday’s game against England.
Before the Wales game at the Millennium Stadium, Heaslip paraphrased elements of Al Pacino’s infamous speech from Any Given Sunday about sport being a game of inches.
He declared, “Oh God, no, no, no. Short and sharp is my manifesto.
“I’m getting enough texts about that [speech]. It’s embarrassing enough.”
Whether Heaslip uses one Pacino or Matt Le Blanc for inspiration on Sunday, Irish supporters will hope their team are more Shining and less Little Women.
*TheScore.ie will be live for Ireland v England from the Aviva Stadium from 2pm this Sunday.
