IRELAND ARE HEAVY favourites to beat Japan on Saturday, fancied on a 40-point margin in some quarters, and Andy Farrell has laid down a challenge to his team to deliver a reaction to last weekend’s defeat to New Zealand.
While a win over the Brave Blossoms won’t convince Ireland’s doubters, Farrell wants to see a physically and mentally tough performance tomorrow in Dublin.
There were several different issues during Ireland’s loss to the All Blacks in Chicago, but Farrell was particularly disappointed with their mindset at certain stages in the game.
“We’ve discussed all sorts of detailed bits where we can get better and I won’t bore you with that, but I suppose the detail becomes a little bit clearer once there’s a determination to put your stamp on the game; attitude, physically and mentally, toughness as far as that’s concerned,” said Farrell yesterday, having made eight changes to his starting XV.
“The start of the game [against New Zealand], giving three penalties away straight from the start is not of an attacking nature that we want.
“So, there’s that and also I think we’re pretty disappointed as well. Yes, I know there’s a few different ramifications in what happened before the try on the 20-something minute mark in the second half there [when Tamaiti Williams' score put New Zealand in front for the first time], but our reaction wasn’t one of fight.
“There’s a lot that needs to be better as far as accuracy is concerned and detail-wise, but our intent in how we play the game, we need a reaction to that.”
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The manner in which New Zealand overran Ireland in the final quarter was a concern for Ireland fans.
Farrell at Ireland training this week. Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
It’s uncharacteristic for Farrell’s team to fall away in any game, but he isn’t concerned about any possible dip in his men’s resilience.
“If you presume that you’ve got something, then you’re on a downward spiral, I would have thought,” said Farrell.
“So, making sure what it is that you think you’ve got, you keep nourishing that and you’re always trying to re-affirm things at the start of any type of campaign and this is one of those definitely.”
Ireland are planning to deliver a far more consistent and effective attacking performance tomorrow than was the case in Chicago last weekend, when they were disappointed not to cause the All Blacks more stress with ball in hand.
Assistant coach Johnny Sexton said this week that he believes Ireland can get back to the attacking heights they hit in 2023, although the question remains whether that multi-phase, multi-option, high-possession approach can still work in today’s game.
“Things change all the time, you know,” said Farrell. “The game has changed a little bit and we need to adapt and change with that.
“How we keep addressing moving forward, you can’t rule out as well the stuff that you’ve done that is pretty good in the past. I suppose it gets back to the point before that when you start back up [in each Ireland campaign], you’re always reiterating what makes that tick.
“We weren’t happy with some aspects of that, so we’re hoping for an improved performance in every aspect of our game this week.”
That includes in defence. Ireland conceded four tries to New Zealand last time out and while the Kiwi attack was excellent at times, defence coach Simon Easterby would have been disappointed with some of the decision-making and contact work from his charges.
Ireland defence coach Simon Easterby. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Many of the Ireland players have learned a new defensive system in Leinster under Jacques Nienaber in the last two seasons. While Farrell said that Ireland’s defensive approach is different, he backs the players to adjust and deliver.
“It is [different] and everyone has their own tweaks and you might see that there’s some similarities in the other provinces but they’ve certainly got different ideas of their own and tweaks also,” said Farrell.
“So, getting them back on the same page for us across the board, not just defensively, is obviously key when they first come into camp.
“Obviously, the nature of Leinster’s defence, how aggressive, up-and-in style of defence isn’t something that we tend to use. It tends to be a lot squarer, a lot more different as far as decision-making in that regard.
“But it really doesn’t matter. You can have any type of system as long as everyone buys into it and does it properly. As Leinster have shown, it can be world-class and really hard to deal with and I think our style has been the same over the years as well.”
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'Our intent in how we play the game, we need a reaction' - Farrell
IRELAND ARE HEAVY favourites to beat Japan on Saturday, fancied on a 40-point margin in some quarters, and Andy Farrell has laid down a challenge to his team to deliver a reaction to last weekend’s defeat to New Zealand.
While a win over the Brave Blossoms won’t convince Ireland’s doubters, Farrell wants to see a physically and mentally tough performance tomorrow in Dublin.
There were several different issues during Ireland’s loss to the All Blacks in Chicago, but Farrell was particularly disappointed with their mindset at certain stages in the game.
“We’ve discussed all sorts of detailed bits where we can get better and I won’t bore you with that, but I suppose the detail becomes a little bit clearer once there’s a determination to put your stamp on the game; attitude, physically and mentally, toughness as far as that’s concerned,” said Farrell yesterday, having made eight changes to his starting XV.
“The start of the game [against New Zealand], giving three penalties away straight from the start is not of an attacking nature that we want.
“So, there’s that and also I think we’re pretty disappointed as well. Yes, I know there’s a few different ramifications in what happened before the try on the 20-something minute mark in the second half there [when Tamaiti Williams' score put New Zealand in front for the first time], but our reaction wasn’t one of fight.
“There’s a lot that needs to be better as far as accuracy is concerned and detail-wise, but our intent in how we play the game, we need a reaction to that.”
The manner in which New Zealand overran Ireland in the final quarter was a concern for Ireland fans.
It’s uncharacteristic for Farrell’s team to fall away in any game, but he isn’t concerned about any possible dip in his men’s resilience.
“If you presume that you’ve got something, then you’re on a downward spiral, I would have thought,” said Farrell.
“So, making sure what it is that you think you’ve got, you keep nourishing that and you’re always trying to re-affirm things at the start of any type of campaign and this is one of those definitely.”
Ireland are planning to deliver a far more consistent and effective attacking performance tomorrow than was the case in Chicago last weekend, when they were disappointed not to cause the All Blacks more stress with ball in hand.
Assistant coach Johnny Sexton said this week that he believes Ireland can get back to the attacking heights they hit in 2023, although the question remains whether that multi-phase, multi-option, high-possession approach can still work in today’s game.
“Things change all the time, you know,” said Farrell. “The game has changed a little bit and we need to adapt and change with that.
“How we keep addressing moving forward, you can’t rule out as well the stuff that you’ve done that is pretty good in the past. I suppose it gets back to the point before that when you start back up [in each Ireland campaign], you’re always reiterating what makes that tick.
“We weren’t happy with some aspects of that, so we’re hoping for an improved performance in every aspect of our game this week.”
That includes in defence. Ireland conceded four tries to New Zealand last time out and while the Kiwi attack was excellent at times, defence coach Simon Easterby would have been disappointed with some of the decision-making and contact work from his charges.
Many of the Ireland players have learned a new defensive system in Leinster under Jacques Nienaber in the last two seasons. While Farrell said that Ireland’s defensive approach is different, he backs the players to adjust and deliver.
“It is [different] and everyone has their own tweaks and you might see that there’s some similarities in the other provinces but they’ve certainly got different ideas of their own and tweaks also,” said Farrell.
“So, getting them back on the same page for us across the board, not just defensively, is obviously key when they first come into camp.
“Obviously, the nature of Leinster’s defence, how aggressive, up-and-in style of defence isn’t something that we tend to use. It tends to be a lot squarer, a lot more different as far as decision-making in that regard.
“But it really doesn’t matter. You can have any type of system as long as everyone buys into it and does it properly. As Leinster have shown, it can be world-class and really hard to deal with and I think our style has been the same over the years as well.”
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