Joe Schmidt: I’m still incredibly positive about this group
For all the travails of last weekend’s calamitous defeat by Japan, Joe Schmidt’s belief in his players and their potential to deliver the best World Cup return in Ireland’s rugby history remains steadfast.
The head coach confirmed his matchday squad for tomorrow’s Pool A game with Russia in the sauna that is the covered Kobe Misaki Stadium, handing the captaincy to his fit-again on-field general Johnny Sexton, and naming a replacements bench that reflects the superiority he is confident his team can display over a nation that is yet to record a Rugby World Cup victory in six attempts over two visits to the tournament in 2011 and 2019.
The expected bonus-point win over the Russians, ranked 20th in the world, is destined to become a footnote in Ireland’s record books, unlike last Saturday’s 19-12 defeat to the host nation, a World Cup classic in the eyes of the world, but a source of bitter disappointment to everyone in the Irish touring party.
Following an opening-weekend trouncing of Six Nations rivals Scotland, the reverse in Shizuoka has left Ireland needing maximum points from their remaining pool games, concluding with Samoa on October 12, to be certain of a quarter-final place.
A win last Saturday would have put Ireland on course to top Pool A. Yet an early 12-3 lead was wiped out by the concession of penalties — some of which Schmidt was told in the disciplinary review process were incorrect decisions — as well as the gathering momentum of a home team roared on by a stadium at fever pitch when replacement wing Kenki Fukuoka scored the winning try in the second half.
That loss, however, has not dented the Ireland boss’s positivity about his painstakingly-assembled squad of players and the history they can make for themselves on Japanese soil in the coming weeks.
“I guess, before the tournament, Japan worried me, probably more than Scotland in a lot of ways because we know Scotland inside out. We had only lost one of our last seven games against Scotland,” Schmidt said at yesterday’s team announcement.
“It was the whole equation of Japan being capable of that outstanding effort, the fact their games are nicely spaced; they are the home nation, and it was disappointing when the home nation (England, 2015) got beaten out the last time. I know it’s a real advantage to have the host nation in the tournament because interest levels stay up, and we knew they’d be really challenging.
So I think for us, the biggest disappointment is you’ve got to have confidence after the first 20 minutes, you’ve gone down there, you’ve scored two tries, you feel like you’ve got a degree of control on the game.
“Our scrum’s very strong, it’s disappointing to concede that scrum penalty and again the feedback is it was a tough call.
“But you’ve got to get above that and continue to be positive, and I’m still incredibly positive about this group.
“They are such a good group of young men that they are determined to make sure we get it right in these next two games and then, beyond that, it doesn’t matter which team you play in the pool next door to us [either New Zealand or South Africa], it is a monumental game.
“It is probably the two form teams, maybe along with England, in the world at the moment and we’d like to think we can be in that mix and we have to maintain our focus on what’s immediately in front of us with these next two games, and then attempt to really reach that level in the quarter-final.”
The selection of captain Sexton at fly-half gives Schmidt additional security in terms of leadership that Ireland missed in the second-half collapse against Japan.
Sexton combines at half-back with Luke McGrath as Conor Murray is rested. Bundee Aki also returns at inside centre, while a concussion for Chris Farrell plus the omission of a not-quite fully-fit Robbie Henshaw means a third straight start for Garry Ringrose at outside centre.
“It’s a risk, but he is feeling great, and he’s playing super,” Schmidt said of Ringrose.
“I thought Garry was really good last weekend, he was one of the guys who didn’t really miss a beat. He was still working really hard, creating opportunity.”
Schmidt will also use his bench to further test the versatility in his squad with tighthead Andrew Porter covering the loosehead side behind starter Dave Kilcoyne, while fly-half Joey Carbery is asked to provide scrum-half cover.
“He trained at scrum-half on and off probably three or four times so far,” Schmidt said of Carbery.
He trained a good bit at scrum-half and then out with Luke today. He’s also there to cover full-back, you know, he’s a very good full-back and he’s another back-up 10 for us if we needed it.
“On the back of last weekend where we ended up with a scrum-half [McGrath] on the wing, I think Joey mightn’t be the worst replacement to have because he’s got a bit of versatility. He could even slot in at 12 and do a really good job and would give us a bit of two-sided attack and that wouldn’t be the worst thing either.
“So having him on the bench is potentially a bit of a bonus. If things work out well it would be nice to give him a little bit of time at scrum-half, just to have him be a little bit comfortable there not having played it since he was a schoolboy.”
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