Larmour: Time to stop talking about the World Cup

Fifteen weeks had passed since Ireland were turfed out of the World Cup by the All Blacks by the time Jordan Larmour sat down today wearing his IRFU gear.

The Six Nations opener against Scotland was just over 48 hours over the horizon.

Guess which game he was happier to discuss.

For those players involved in Japan there must be a sense that Saturday can't come quickly enough, even if Jonathan Sexton has been honest enough to admit that the wound inflicted in the Far East won't fully heal until France 2023.

“Any time you get to put on the green jersey it is a special moment, to get to run out in front of 50,000 people, your family and your friends at the Aviva Stadium,” said Larmour.

“It's a special day so you have to cherish them and take them with both hands.

“The World Cup is so long ago we should probably stop talking about it at this stage but we are looking forward to this weekend.

"We have taken a lot from the World Cup and hopefully some of the learnings we take we can rectify them (sic) this weekend.

“We're just looking forward to this Saturday and that's where the focus is.”

Maybe for the players and coaches. For everyone else this campaign will be framed against the backdrop of that 46-14 hiding in Tokyo, the shock defeat to the hosts in Shizuoka, not to mention the 2019 Six Nations losses to England and Wales.

Larmour can at least look back at the World Cup safe in the knowledge that he was one of the few to return home with reputation enhanced.

Though Rob Kearney was good too, there was a sense that the younger Leinster man was worth more game time than he earned.

The expectation is that Andy Farrell will lean towards an attacking game that offers men with Larmour's pace and skills a greater chance to shine and the early indications are that new attack coach Mike Catt has been busy leading that charge.

“Andy has talked about letting us express ourselves. We still have a game plan and we're still going to follow it but of course if there is opportunity there you have to take it.

"The name of the game is taking opportunities and scoring tries and building a lead. It's very exciting, good buzz in camp.”

Catt seems to have made a good first impression. He sauntered up for media duties yesterday with a smile like the proverbial Cheshire and that bonhomie is in itself a welcome elevation in mood music from that sensed under Joe Schmidt late last year.

#TeamOfUs

Here's the Ireland team to play Scotland in the opening round of the #GuinnessSixNations in @AVIVAStadium on Saturday.

Two uncapped players: Caelan Doris & Ronan Kelleher.#ShoulderToShoulder pic.twitter.com/Ar7nLV7Krs

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) January 28, 2020

Larmour painted a picture of an open and honest type of guy, full of energy. A man ready to share in the levity when the time is right but one zoned in to the business at hand when there is work to be done.

And Catt has also introduced a few new ideas to the pot.

Schmidt always insisted that there was no straitjacket placed on his players when they had the ball in hand but there was a heavy focus on structure and set plays that will likely be loosened somewhat under the new regime as they seek a balance between frameworks and personal freedom.

It won't happen today, maybe not even tomorrow or this weekend.

“I suppose, like everything, it takes time,” said Larmour who starts at full-back against the Scots.

“We got a load of stuff thrown at us last week in camp and we were still working on that today but the Six Nations is a long enough competition.

“Hopefully each week we are getting better and better and carrying that momentum. It's not going to be straight away.

"I'm sure there will always be mistakes but it is about trying to limit those mistakes and keep building and getting better.”