Elwood calls for response after Scottish mauling

IRISH WOLFHOUNDS’ coach Eric Elwood hopes his side will have learned valuable lessons from their humbling defeat to Scotland A when they square up to England Saxons at Ravenhill tonight (7.30pm).

And he remains adamant the talent at his disposal can “cause any side real problems at this level.”

After bossing the first half against the Scots, Elwood’s men slumped to a 13-32 defeat and he believes the addition of Mick O’Driscoll, Donncha Ryan and Mike McCarthy to the pack will be crucial against a strong English unit. Elwood admitted that Ireland struggled in the physical stakes in the second half of last week’s tie — a complaint he wants rectified this evening.

“We did fine in the first half but when they changed tactics and took the game to us up front we were found wanting. England will have a big physical presence. They’ll be direct in the pack and they’ll want to spin the ball wide quickly to make full use of what appears to be a pretty potent back division.

“We’ve got to match them up front and I suppose the necessity to do that is reflected a little in our selection, with Mick (O’Driscoll), Donncha (Ryan) and Mike (McCarthy) brought in to give us that extra bit of steel. The key for us is to be very combative and match them physically. We’re looking to win those collisions at the breakdown and our tackling has to be more aggressive too. I want the players who were involved last week to learn from the game where in the first half we really bossed the contact area. If we can do that and be accurate in the set piece, we have enough talent in the side to cause any side real problems at this level.”

The Saxons head for Belfast on the back of an impressive 45-17 win over Italy A, but English coach Stuart Lancaster is still expecting a backlash.

“We were pleased with the performance against Italy, given that we went into the game with only three days’ preparation, but Ireland is a significantly different challenge and there are plenty of areas we need to improve. We’re away from home and Ireland will be on the rebound from their defeat against Scotland A as well as looking to avenge their defeat to us at The Rec last year. So it’s about stepping up our intensity and focus this week; we’ll be going into the game with confidence but also very wary and respectful of what Ireland will bring,” said Lancaster.

The Wolfhounds team shows six changes, David Kearney coming in for Gavin Duffy at full-back, Isaac Boss at scrum-half for Tomás O’Leary, Declan Fitzpatrick for the injured Tony Buckley, Ryan and O’Driscoll for Devin Toner and Ian Nagle, and McCarthy for Kevin McLaughlin.

The Saxons have just three alterations, with Gloucester prop Paul Doran-Jones, London Wasps scrum-half Joe Simpson and Bath full-back Nick Abendanon coming in for Joe Marler, Richard Wigglesworth and Mike Brown respectively.