THERE WAS a giddiness to Ireland yesterday in Tours. They had a hectic schedule between meeting thousands of the locals, hopping on a bus to train elsewhere, and then getting suited and booted for a formal ceremony at the opulent Grand Théâtre.
It was impossible not to notice how relaxed the Irish players were, how much they enjoyed a day that could have been a drag. Why shouldn’t they be giddy? 18 of the squad are at their first World Cup and their excitement was palpable. Having done a Viking Clap with 12,000 locals earlier in the day, they repeated it among the dignitaries later on, Jamison Gibson-Park the ringleader. The mayor of Tours loved it.
Under Andy Farrell, this squad don’t sweat the small stuff and he hopes they won’t sweat the big stuff under pressure in the World Cup either.
It was Friday evening when Ireland realised that the pitch at Stade de la Vallée du Cher wasn’t fit for the open training session they had planned. Fungus had struck, it was uneven, and injuries were more of a certainty than a possibility. The Irish staff discussed cancelling the event altogether but Farrell decided they’d plough on. He wanted his players to meet the locals and feel the atmosphere. Was it really a big deal to jump onto a bus afterwards and drive 15 minutes to their own training base?
While Farrell has embraced rugby challenges, welcoming the chance for his players to face adversity, he has simultaneously placed a relentless emphasis on having a happy, comfortable camp. He was there at the end of the Joe Schmidt era when things became too pressurised. He saw how players feared making mistakes.
Farrell isn’t all sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows. He can lay down the law if it’s required, but it rarely is. He knows the Irish players are as diligent, prepared, and ambitious as anyone else in the world. So Farrell has pushed them to be more chilled-out, more open with each other, happier to be themselves and not put on any masks in camp.
He has also made the players’ families part of the set-up. The families have been everywhere with Ireland – captain’s runs, on the pitch after games, at the celebration dinners, at their recent training camp in Portugal. They’ll be visiting France too. It’s not unique to Ireland, but Farrell has really focused on this. He knows that happy families mean happy players, which means better performances.
The temptation while watching Ireland yesterday was to think that they looked a little too swept up in the excitement, that the thrill of the World Cup might be too much if this day of welcome sparked such giddiness.
Farrell pointed to level-headedness as a key attribute for World Cup success, but he also appreciates how special this all is for the newcomers. Word from within camp is that the coaches are content with the atmosphere a week out from their opener against Romania.
There’s nothing like a World Cup. Irish rugby fans don’t need to be told that, for all the wrong reasons. There’s nothing like the pressure of the World Cup, the ferocious competition, the unexpected twists and turns, the potential for disaster waiting around the corner. Farrell’s cup-half-full approach means Ireland also see the potential for triumph around a different corner.
The Irish players got World Cup medals at the welcoming ceremony last night, along with caps. These were participation medals and it’s undoubtedly a major honour for anyone to make a World Cup, but Ireland aim to bring home another medal of a different kind.
Brian O’Driscoll was among the speakers at the Grand Théâtre and he told the Irish squad that the only ceiling is the one they set for themselves. He followed up by saying that if they keep playing the way they have been in the last couple of years, they can be World Cup winners.
And yet, the reality of World Cups is that the ceiling is not totally in your control. Bad luck can catch you out, as can other good teams. Ireland are a happy camp, sure. Maybe the happiest, most confident, most proven Irish camp ever, but they have a demanding route to the trophy.
Presuming Ireland can deal with Romania and Tonga in their opening two games, the Springboks will bring ferocity and physicality and World Cup-winning nous thereafter. Winning that one would lift the pressure on Ireland, otherwise it could be a winner-takes-the-quarter-final clash with Scotland two weeks later.
If Ireland get into the knock-outs, they’ll face either hosts France or New Zealand, who hammered them in the quarter-finals of the last World Cup. It’s certainly not the kindest draw.
But from Farrell’s point of view, none of those teams will be particularly excited about playing Ireland. Facing this Irish team is no walk in the park. They have beaten all of the other top 10 teams in the world over the last two years.
When the hostess of yesterday evening’s ceremony said Ireland are one of the best teams in the world, someone shouted that they’re actually number one. Schmidt’s men carried that ranking into the last World Cup and it meant nothing, but it doesn’t feel like Farrell’s side are running out of steam before kick-off this time around.
Ireland team manager Mick Kearney, an influential figure behind the scenes, spoke at the ceremony too. He finished by pointing out that Ireland could meet France in the final of this World Cup. That’s how this group is thinking.
The pressure that applies to Ireland is not reserved only for them. Les Bleus will feel it on Friday night for their opener against New Zealand. The All Blacks will feel it as they look to bounce back from a shellacking by the South Africa last weekend. The Springboks will feel it as they attempt to defend their title. On the other side of the draw, Wales, Australia, and England are all under pressure to get out of their pools.
Up until this point, Farrell has played a blinder. The success Ireland have enjoyed under him shouldn’t be dismissed if Ireland don’t make history at this World Cup, though it will be in some quarters.
Still, it feels like this World Cup is the prize that Farrell has always had in his mind, that everything he has done over the last few years has been for the betterment of Ireland’s chances in France. Let’s see how the plan stands up to the most intense of pressure.