Ross: Beating Oz means nothing if we don’t top Pool

A REST by the shores of Lake Taupo after Saturday’s victory over Australia may have been well earned but while the squad took a day off, there was a determination not to waste the terrific opportunity that now stands before Declan Kidney’s side at this Rugby World Cup.

The Irish win at Eden Park over the tournament’s second favourites and Tri-Nations champions has turned the tournament on its head, opening up the more favourable side of the draw to Ireland.

No-one in the Irish camp will be allowed to consider the permutations, however, until the first order of business is taken care of and that means beating Russia this weekend in Rotorua and finishing off Pool C with a win over Italy in Dunedin on October 2.

“To say we’re pretty bloody pleased with that is an understatement,” Ireland tighthead prop Mike Ross said of the 15-6 win over Australia. “But at the same time we know that winning this game will mean nothing if we don’t show up against Italy and Russia.”

Ross spoke of a growing bond within the squad as this tournament has progressed and pointed to the committed effort against the Wallabies last Saturday at Eden Park as exhibit A.

“We’ve been together for a while now and it’s really, really turning into a team. You really feel like there is no Munster, no Leinster, no Ulster, no Connacht: it’s just Ireland at this stage. It’s very pleasing to finally have it click.”

Ross came off with less than five minutes to go against the Australians and his substitution raised eyebrows as he was replaced by Tom Court just before a scrum on Ireland’s five-metre line. The Leinster prop explained he had been having trouble with a “small bit of a back spasm, but nothing serious”.

And it did not prevent him from combining with hooker Rory Best and loosehead prop Cian Healy to dominate the Wallabies front row in the scrum, forcing the Australians to concede five penalties at scrum-time.

“It was something we’ve been working towards for a while and it clicked today. It helped to keep the scoreboard ticking over. We’ll sit down now and have a few quiet ones and be quietly pleased with ourselves.”

Ross, though, recognises that Ireland have to put in the hard yards all over again this weekend against the unfancied Russians with consistency the key to World Cup success.

“It definitely is (consistency),” he said. “We can’t just show up for the big games. We’ve got Russia next week, and we have Italy in Dunedin. The Italians pushed Australia hard for 60 minutes and we’ll certainly be expecting a huge effort from them. We were a Ronan O’Gara drop goal away from losing against them in the Six Nations so we’re not underestimating the challenge they are going to pose either.”

Starting scrum-half Eoin Reddan agreed with his Leinster team-mate, although he admitted it had taken the likes of the Tri-Nations champions to kick start Irish momentum.

“It’s one step done so it’s onwards and upwards,” Reddan said. “We probably needed a big team to play against and a big game to play to sow that seed; the belief is always there but I just think it helps a little bit in terms of going forward and what we can achieve. It is just another step but it’s a big step and it puts us in a good position going forward and I think it gives us a bit of confidence to go out and play some rugby over the next few weeks.

Reddan said there would be no let up in that regard and no opportunity to rest on one’s laurels in the remaining pool games. “We’ve got to push on and keep improving. You’re either getting better or worse – that sounds clichéd but it’s true. We’ll get back on to the pitch and push on.”