SMILES AND SUNNY dispositions were a conspicuous part Irish kit during yesterday’s Captain’s Run in Murrayfield.
Nothing wrong with smiling, of course. And nothing new for players to have bit of craic in a warm-up session that included a raucous walking and passing session. But in-camp positivity before a 14.30 kick-off against Scotland is certainly be a helpful tonic to the wider reaction to Ireland’s first defeat in 11 and the loss of a Grand Slam dream.
And yet, the captain himself was relatively subdued when he walked in to the carpeted suite to address the media.
For the last time in the Six Nations? Maybe, that decision is still for another day. Or maybe he just was saving all his energy for Jim Hamilton and Jonny Gray.
“Well I hope we’re playing with smiles on our faces, that would be a good thing,” says Paul O’Connell ahead of a game where Ireland must maximise every scoring opportunity to pile the pressure on Six Nations leaders England.
“I don’t think it’s a case of having the shackles off, I think that some of last week was disappointing but we were playing a very good team as well.
“They have a whole set of plans for the game as well that they want to impose on you. Sometimes good teams manage to do that and Wales did that last week.
“So we just move on then. We try and address some of those things, and prepare for Scotland the same we prepared for Wales a week ago.”
It’s a sentiment that’s more than familiar by now. It’s gospel: focus will always be on winning the game and then, if the opportunity arises, the hunt can turn to tries and points. Anything else and the groundwork for an embarrassing collapse to a promising opening three games is laid. O’Connell is certainly prepared to feel the underdog bite in an effort to stave off a pointless campaign.
“I think we’ve all been there,” says the skipper winning his 101st cap.
I remember being in the Aviva Stadium in 2011 when England were coming over trying to win a Championship. We had struggled for form and that game was a massive spark for us. We saw it as a great opportunity and we weren’t really playing for anything, we’d nothing to lose. We went out and we started at 100 miles an hour and we didn’t stop.
“Those are the dangers of days like tomorrow, so that’s why the preparation hasn’t changed. In fairness, whenever we’ve won a game, there’s always been loads of things to improve on and loads of things we’ve been disappointed with. It’s been the same this weekend.”
O’Connell will be the best indicator of when that approach changes in the course of today’s match. A time will come when he points Jonathan Sexton to kick towards the touchline rather than the posts and we will all be on the same page.
However, that moment could come later than some may expect. Few need or want a reminder of the 2013 defeat in Edinburgh, but the hosts are aiming for a third straight home win over Ireland having also ran our winners in a pre-World Cup fixture four years ago.
Ireland winger Luke Fitzgerald has waited the same length of time for a chance to start an international Test again for Ireland. Perhaps more than any winger on these shores, Fitzgerald is capable of altering Ireland’s attacking approach. Chasing high balls is by no means the strongest aspect of his game, but exploiting gaps and stepping out of tackles most certainly is.
Wooden surfaces all over this island will be touched in the hope that the 27-year-old can make his overdue 28th cap his most memorable one. Then the smiles would be back on full beams..
“I’d love to win a championship,” O’Connell says with a rueful look back at missed opportunities.
“There have been plenty of close calls throughout my career, particularly under Eddie when it looked like we were never going to get there at times. It would be great but it’s a massive obstacle. I know where Scotland will be mentally, I’ve been there before like in 2011 when we played England.
“So it’s a massive challenge, and talking about championships is something that’s not on my mind at the moment. It’s just a big focus on a big performance and a big start to the game.”
Scotland
15. Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors)
14. Dougie Fife (Edinburgh Rugby)
13. Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors)
12. Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby)
11. Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors)
10. Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors)
9. Greig Laidlaw (Gloucester — Capt.)
1. Ryan Grant (Glasgow Warriors)
2. Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby)
3. Euan Murray (Glasgow Warriors)
4. Jim Hamilton (Saracens)
5. Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors)
6. Adam Ashe (Glasgow Warriors)
7. Blair Cowan (London Irish)
8. David Denton (Edinburgh Rugby)
Replacements:
16. Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors)
17. Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby)
18. Geoff Cross (London Irish)
19. Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors)
20. Rob Harley (Glasgow Warriors)
21. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh Rugby)
22. Greig Tonks (Edinburgh Rugby)
23. Tim Visser (Edinburgh Rugby)
Ireland
15. Rob Kearney
14. Tommy Bowe
13. Jared Payne
12. Robbie Henshaw
11. Luke Fitzgerald
10. Jonathan Sexton
9. Conor Murray
1. Cian Healy
2. Rory Best
3. Mike Ross
4. Devin Toner
5. Paul O’Connell (Capt.)
6. Peter O’Mahony
7. Sean O’Brien
8. Jamie Heaslip
16. Sean Cronin
17. Jack McGrath
18. Marty Moore
19. Iain Henderson
20. Jordi Murphy
21. Eoin Reddan
22. Ian Madigan
23. Felix Jones
Referee: Jerome Garces
