Schmidt avoids 'title decider' talk against England

Joe Schmidt refused to get sucked into talk of an RBS 6 Nations title decider with England in Dublin on March 1 after his Ireland side continued its winning start to the championship with a hard-fought victory over France on Saturday.

Sat, 14 Feb, 2015 - 21:41

By Simon Lewis

Ireland just did enough to hold off the French at the Aviva Stadium, needing the boots of returning fly-half Johnny Sexton and replacement Ian Madigan to kick them to victory with six penalties before withstanding a late rally from the visitors sparked by a 70th minute try from sub forward Romain Taofifenua.

That sets up a clash back at the Aviva in two weeks with the only other unbeaten side left in the Six Nations, Stuart Lancaster's English side, which hammered Italy 47-17 at Tiwckenham earlier on Saturday afternoon.

England were the last side to beat Ireland in last season's championship and Schmidt's side have since gone on a nine-match winning run. One more would match the national team record for consecuitve wins set by Eddie O'Sullivan's team in 2002-03.

“I didn't know that that was a record,” Schmidt said. “I do know that it will be a year since we last lost to England and we'll back faced with the same foe and it's one that I massive respect for.

“I think they're a really well balanced team, they're well organised and well coached and hopefully we can demonstrate a little bit of that killer instinct and accuracy to get our nose in front.

“We got pretty close to them at Twickenham last year but I felt their performance against Wales (in round one last weekend) is probably ahead of anything we've put together in the last two games so we're going to have to be better again.”

Schmidt also played down talk of the clash with England being a title decider, suggesting that Wales and Scotland, coach by his fellow New Zealanders Warren Gatland and Vern Cotter, may have something to say about that.

“A game against England is our next one and that's what we're planning for but I've got too much respect for a couple of my old mates, Gats and Vern Cotter in Wales and Scotland. Those two teams go head to head tomorrow and one of them will come back into the competition with a win and it's all on again.

“It's one of those things I think is fantastic about the championship, that it is so tight, it is so difficult to win and you can never say you've got your nose in front until you get to that end point.”

Ireland captain Paul O'Connell echoed his head coach in believing that the defending champions have plenty of hard work to put in over the next two weeks, beginning with a mini-training camp in Galway early next week.

Despite celebrating back to back victories over France and hailing a "massive" win, O'Connell said: "It is disappointing really, the way we finished the game.

"We weren't really all the things we want to be - we want to be disciplined, we want to be accurate, and we weren't as good at those things as we'd like to be. We turned over the ball unnecessarily.

"But they are a good side, and a big side, with a lot of very skilful players. So for us to get a win is massive.

"The defensive effort in the second half was great - you'd rather defend with the ball, and rather have the ball for longer, putting them under pressure and defending that way, but we turned over the ball a lot and you can't do that with them.

"They are a good side and they scored a good try in the end - I guess the pressure told eventually against us."

O'Connell added: "I think today is great - every time we beat them it is massive. But I think that game against England is going to be another level. I think it is going to be a challenge like not many of us have faced before."

Ireland had led 12-6 at half-time with Sexton, playing his first game since a 12-week lay-off following a series of four concussions in a year, kicking four penalties to Camille Lopez's two.

The high penalty count from referee Wayne Barnes disrupted the flow of the game and prevented it becoming anything approaching a spectacle, and there was some unwanted drama when Sexton clashed heads in contact with French centre Mathieu Bastareaud in the second half.

Both players went off for Head Injury Assessments and both were cleared to return, Sexton sporting stitches a facial wound.

In his absence Madigan added a penalty and France were reduced to 14 men when lock Pascal Papé was yellow carded in the 53rd minute for deliberatly kneeing Jamie Heaslip in the back during a maul, an act which led to the Ireland No.8 being substituted and feeling “very uncomfortable”, according to Schmidt.

Ireland failed to take advantage of the numerical advantage and instead balanced the books when hooker Rory Best followed Papé to the bin seven minutes later for a tripping offence.

Though Sexton returned to add another penalty, it was France who finished strongest, Taofifenua exploiting a stretched defence to score the only try of the game.

Lopez failed to convert, adding to an earlier missed penalty but Ireland finished the game on the back foot and that will give Schmidt plenty of pause for thought in the coming days.