Smal: Fresh faces must maintain our momentum

IRELAND’S entire 30-man World Cup squad has been charged with building on last Saturday’s victory over Australia as the team management prepares to make changes for Sunday’s Pool C clash against Russia.

There will be a weekend off for many of the 15 players who started the momentous 15-6 win over the Wallabies last Saturday at Eden Park in Auckland as thoughts turn to the task of completing a qualifying group campaign with wins over the Russians in Rotorua on Sunday and against Italy in the finale on October 2 in Dunedin.

Forwards coach Gert Smal, who saw the Irish pack dominate their Australian counterparts in the scrum and at the breakdown, said there must be no let up in commitment against the pool’s minnows, who yesterday suffered a 53-17 defeat to Italy for their second loss of the tournament.

“There will definitely be some changes and the players who get the opportunity must take the momentum forward. So there’s a big responsibility on them as well,” Smal said.

“You can’t spend too long on the previous performance, it doesn’t mater whether you win or lose the game. In a World Cup you have to plan as best you can for the team you’re playing against, get that game over, enjoy it that evening but the next day it is onto the next game.

“It’s not on our minds at the moment, certainly not the coaches and I believe the players as well. There was a lot of urgency from the players this morning. A big thing has been made about their confidence and I think the players knew what they had.

“When they bring it out that was the type of performance [against Australia] you’ll see. So the challenge is just to do it more consistently. That’s a World Cup.

“You have to put the performances together, get continuity in performance and consistency.”

The message is clear. There are no dirt-trackers here, no second string. This is a total squad effort and all 30 players have been charged with bringing World Cup success to Ireland.

There may be some enforced absences when Declan Kidney names the Ireland team to face the winless Russians on Friday. Inside centre Gordon D’Arcy and lock Paul O’Connell spent yesterday rehabilitating their strained hamstrings while blindside flanker Stephen Ferris also sat out training as the Irish medical staff continue to manage the knee problem that kept the Ulster man out of action for much of last season.

Tommy Bowe suffered a bump on the calf and underwent a scan yesterday but Smal said the problem was not serious.

Shane Jennings, who started the opening game against the Americans before making way for the return from a knee ligament injury of Sean O’Brien, will be one of the players who can expect to return to the starting line-up in Rotorua. His input as a non-playing squad member in last week’s big-match build-up, both in word and deed, emphasised the importance of the squad ethic. In the wake of the Australian victory, Smal highlighted Jennings and Geordan Murphy’s vocal contributions to the cause while the Leinster flanker put his body on the line on the training ground as he replicated the actions of the Wallabies’ star loose forward David Pocock.

“I think people realise the importance of a squad, not just at international level,” Jennings said.

“The first time I realised the importance of a squad was at Leinster. If you want to win things, it’s not going to be 15 lads who are going to win things, it’s not going to be 22. You’ve got to have the 30 guys who know every call, who know every position and if something happens, that they’re able to go into that role and fulfil it. If not, you’re letting down your teammates and you’re going to let down yourself and you’re not going to get the opportunity again.

“There are lads who are really hungry to play and we certainly want to give Deccie and Gert and the other coaches as many headaches as possible. You’ve got to be tight for that. You can’t be letting each other down. You saw how much it meant to everybody, not just the team, but everybody who was there and everyone at home.

“You don’t want to waste an opportunity and look back on it when we’re back in Cork or Dublin or Belfast and say ‘Jeez, that slipped us by’. We want to come together and make sure that we give ourselves the best shot at it.”