AS IS ALWAYS the way, Joe Schmidt was the star attraction at Ireland’s press conference yesterday afternoon in Cardiff, when he confirmed his first matchday 23 for the World Cup.
Though the Kiwi head coach was good humoured in dealing with the various questions about Robbie Henshaw and Darren Cave and Iain Henderson and Tommy Bowe, you got the sense that he, more than anyone, is desperate for tomorrow afternoon to arrive.
Schmidt lives for game day and 2.30pm tomorrow at the Millennium Stadium marks the beginning of a run of them that may well lead Ireland to their best-ever World Cup performance.
Though Schmidt will have his doubts heading into what is a new experience for him, there are several good reasons to be confident about what Ireland can achieve.
“It’s the experience of the guys who have been there,” says Schmidt in that regard. “Paul O’Connell has been to four World Cups. There are a number of guys who have been three times, the likes of Rory Best.
I suppose the thing that gives us confidence is that we’ve got through that pre-World Cup phase. You never want to lose, but we’ve put a few things together that we’ve wanted to see and a few things that we haven’t done well enough.
“We do feel we’ve a few solutions up our sleeve.”
Schmidt points to a handful of refereeing decisions that went against Ireland in the Wales clash, as well as “a couple of nice overlaps that we didn’t convert” against England at Twickenham, in indicating that Ireland haven’t been too far off the pace recently.
“Creating chances doesn’t win games,” says Schmidt. “You’ve got to convert enough of them to apply scoreboard pressure and get the differential on the scoreboard to take the ‘W’ away.”
Expect a more ruthless version of Ireland tomorrow in Cardiff against Canada.
Schmidt agrees that the team he has picked for this tournament opener is certainly a little different to what he envisaged even two weeks ago, saying he hopes that will continue to be the case as players challenge his thinking with strong form.
He welcomed the giddy excitement of his squad when travelling to Wales on Wednesday evening, but also underlined his pleasure at how the squad rolled up their sleeves and gathered their focus for a high-quality training session yesterday.
That, according to Schmidt, is a sign of maturity and leadership in his squad.
In terms of the composition of his matchday 23 for this Canada fixture, the return of Cian Healy to the mix is hugely welcome, particularly with the pool clash against France in Cardiff on 11 October looming in the background.
The loosehead prop may take a game or three to get back up to the dynamism that has made him a world-class prop, but his inclusion this weekend is a major boost to Schmidt.
I’m relieved to be able to pick him,” says the Kiwi, “because I think he needs to be able to play this week.
“We felt he probably could have played two weeks ago (against England) but when someone is returning from a long-term injury to play them in a Test match where everyone else is already ready to go and have played a couple of games in the last two weeks, and we know the game is going to be high-paced, we just felt it was probably a risk that he might pick up a different injury.
“Now that we’ve got a little more condition into him – and we know the Canadians are going to hit the ground running – but we just think he’s a bit more prepared for that now.”
While bringing Healy into the squad and giving Iain Henderson a starting chance brings huge excitement, there is also interest in the men who have missed out on selection in what looks like close to Schmidt’s first-choice team.
Devin Toner has been a totem for Ireland in the last two years, while Tommy Bowe has looked indispensable at times in his international career. Neither is involved tomorrow.
Schmidt feels neither player took it for granted that they would be selected, and stresses that their exclusion was not simply to serve as a reminder to perceived front-liners that no one is undroppable.
“It’s probably not a message to the squad, as much what we feel was the best combination,” says Schmidt.
If it is reflected in that way amongst the squad, hopefully that’s a signal to the squad that A: everybody’s got a chance of selection, and B: those selected need to make sure that they keep working hard to stay selected.
“I don’t think anyone felt that they were automatic selections.
“Maybe there’s a couple of players who could have been afforded that luxury, but there’s a few players who have been selected who probably need to show a bit more, and there’s some players who have shown a bit and merit the selection that allows them to play this weekend.”
Everyone is being kept on their toes. That is the way under Schmidt and it’s another of the reasons to be confident about the coming weeks in Wales and England.
The man himself just wants to get the show started for real.
