THE EMERGING IRELAND players have been keeping themselves occupied away from training with intensely-contested games of cards. Bloemfontein in South Africa isn’t exactly top of most sightseers’ bucket lists so we’ve yet to hear of any excursions.
The reality is that the Irish players were never going to see much of the place anyway on this in-and-out tour which involves three games in the space of 10 days.
This is very much a business trip and though its merits have been strongly debated and it hasn’t exactly grabbed hold of the Irish sporting consciousness, there is something to gain for the players involved. A good tour and they further their reputations with the senior Irish coaches. A bad tour and their Test prospects greatly diminish.
It starts today with a clash against the Griquas, who were runners-up in this year’s Currie Cup but have named a new-look side for this clash at Toyota Stadium [KO 12.45pm Irish time, live streamed on Irishrugby.ie].
Among the Irishmen out to make a big impression is Ulster’s Stewart Moore, who admits he has mainly been losing the games of cards in camp this week. He’s more focused on his job at inside center today as he makes his first appearance for an Ireland team since impressing for the U20s back in 2019.
The 23-year-old has had to be patient in Ulster over recent seasons due to the competition for places in midfield. In fact, he shifted to fullback in the second half of last season and also started there against Connacht two weekends ago.
“It has been really enjoyable,” said Moore of that shift yesterday. “I like how I can surprise myself every week, I don’t know what position I’m going to be. But learning different aspects of each position can help with the other positions.
“Now I know what the boys have to go through when I’m sitting at 12 or 13 and maybe being a bit slow around the corner or something. I can help them out as much as possible because I know what they’re going through.”
Moore says experienced Ulster scrum-half John Cooney has been a great mentor for him in the Ulster squad.
“He really puts an emphasis on enjoyment. And I suppose that’s it, you can’t come in every day not enjoying it. It’s not going to be good for you.
“You saw that in the Scarlets game [last weekend], the emphasis was on enjoyment and he had a man-of-the-match performance.”
Having watched from afar as Ireland claimed a Triple Crown and beat the All Blacks in their series in New Zealand this year, Moore has delighted in getting to grips with the Irish style of play in camp since last weekend.
“The first thing is that you can see why our Irish team is so good,” he says of adapting to the Irish coaches’ demands.
“It’s the small details in the style of play. It’s hard work, you have to go and sit and look at it, but it has been really enjoyable. I’ve enjoyed the amount of detail there is to it and you can see why they’re so good.”
Today, Moore links up with Leinster’s 20-year-old Jamie Osborne in the Irish midfield. Building cohesion has been a big thing this week but the Ulster man says initial signs have been good.
“I’ve watched Jamie for a couple of years now playing down in Leinster, I played against him a few times,” says Moore.
“Nice left peg like myself. He’s a really good lad, salt of the earth, like they all are. Just being on the same page as him and seeing wee things. He will always come up to me with wee things. He notices wee things I would notice, so we are quite in sync.”
Head coach Simon Easterby and his Emerging Ireland assistants hope the rest of the team is equally in tune with each other as they aim to ensure this short tour of South Africa is seen as a long-term success. It could be just the start for Moore and a few others.
Emerging Ireland:
- 15. Shane Daly
- 14. Calvin Nash
- 13. Jamie Osborne
- 12. Stewart Moore
- 11. Robert Baloucoune
- 10. Jack Crowley
- 9. Nathan Doak
- 1. Josh Wycherley
- 2. Tom Stewart
- 3. Thomas Clarkson
- 4. Joe McCarthy
- 5. Thomas Ahern
- 6. David McCann
- 7. Scott Penny
- 8. Max Deegan (captain)
Replacements:
- 16. Diarmuid Barron
- 17. Michael Milne
- 18. Roman Salanoa
- 19. Brian Deeny
- 20. John Hodnett
- 21. Michael McDonald
- 22. Jake Flannery
- 23. Antoine Frisch
Griquas:
- 15. Malcolm Jaer
- 14. Raegan Oranje
- 13. Jay-Cee Nel
- 12. Tertius Kruger
- 11. Luther Obi
- 10. Eddie Fouché
- 9. Bobby Alexander
- 1. Kudzwai Dube
- 2. Simon Westraadt
- 3. Justin Forwood
- 4. Johan Retief
- 5. Albert Liebenberg
- 6. Niel Otto
- 7. Werner Gouws
- 8. Janco Venter
Replacements:
- 16. Janco Uys
- 17. Melusi Mthabela
- 18. Janu Botha
- 19. Godfrey Muzanargwo
- 20. Michael Amiras
- 21. Johan Mulder
- 22. George Whitehead
- 23. Ashlon Davids
- 24. Francois Staples
- 25. Thabo Ndimande
- 26. Vaughen Isaacs
