How to beat the best? Sexton: ‘We need to go out with that attacking mindset’

Whether you are beating the All Blacks five tries to four or grinding it out in a tight arm-wrestle, Johnny Sexton knows the common thread to Ireland’s recent successes against the best team in the world was to never switch off.

Beating New Zealand, as Ireland finally managed after 111 years in Chicago in 2016 and again on home soil last November, is as much a mental challenge as a physical and tactical effort and Sexton and his team will have to employ maximum concentration as well as play to the peak of their powers this Saturday if they are to record a third victory in three years, this time in a World Cup quarter-final.

The greater mental strength of Steve Hansen’s side got the All Blacks over the finishing line in that classic 2013 encounter during Joe Schmidt’s first November series as Ireland head coach.

Having built a 22-7 half-time lead the Irish withdrew into their shells to try and protect their position and paid a cruel price as the Kiwis stormed back after the break and stole victory at the death with a last-kick conversion in a 24-22 heartbreaker.

So Sexton knows it is not necessarily the number of points you score against New Zealand or the manner of the contest but the ability to stay focused throughout 80 minutes or run the risk of being punished in clinical fashion.

That knack has not left the All Blacks as they displayed in that gripping opening pool fixture against arch-rivals South Africa back on September 21. The Springboks battered away at their foes with huge physical intensity for the opening quarter at Tokyo Stadium but in the second they let their guard down, full-back Beauden Barrett was there to pounce and wing George Bridge was on hand to finish.

And so it was when Scott Barrett scored off turnover ball three minutes later. From 3-0 down after 22 minutes to 17-3 up on 27, New Zealand had capitalised on errors and flicked the switch in devastating fashion.

Sexton knows something similar could easily happen this Saturday. “It could go any way, we have to be prepared for all things. We don’t know what the conditions will be like, there are so many different things that go into it, it’s very hard to tell.

“But one thing, you need to score tries against them because I know they didn’t score against us in the Aviva (in 2018), but they had a couple of chances that they didn’t take, as did we.

But we need to go out with that attacking mindset. I think that’s one thing against them, you can’t sit back, the minute you sit back ... and we saw that in Chicago, we attacked, attacked, attacked and got a lead, and we sat back for two minutes and they scored two tries and it was like, ‘okay, now we’ve got to attack again’.

“So you’ve got to keep attacking them with your defence, with everything you do mindset-wise in terms of going for the corner when you really have a chance of going for it. That’s what we’ve taken from those games.”

Forewarned is forearmed as the saying goes and Ireland have already been given a reminder of the consequences of switching off when they were beaten by Japan in their second pool game having taken a 12-3 lead after 21 minutes. “Yeah,” said Sexton, “and if we got the chance to play against them again, that’s probably, maybe, one change we’d make.

“You’ve got to try to keep the ball against them because when they get it they’re a nightmare to try to get the ball off, we saw that and Scotland obviously saw it last night. And the All Blacks are pretty similar. They play fast, they play quick, they’re ruthless in terms of not making many mistakes so when you have it, you really have to be good with it, and really attack them.”

Ireland will have that message drilled into them this week as they prepare for the biggest game of their lives on Saturday. IRFU performance analyst Vinny Hammond yesterday did what he does best and condensed what sets New Zealand apart from the competition into three concise sentences.

“It’s being clinical,” Hammond said. “If they get a chance they take it and I think that’s what every team aspires to be.

“I think Japan had a couple of chances early (against Scotland) and they scored off them. It changes the whole tone of the game. I think that’s what we have to have really. When we get a shot, we fire it.”