Romanian scrum will load-test Ireland's discipline

Ireland scrum coach John Fogarty is planning for a physical and potentially feisty Romanian forward pack

GOOD TEST: National scrum coach John Fogarty during an Ireland rugby media conference at Complexe de la Chambrerie in Tours, France. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Ireland’s Rugby World Cup squad has been urged to be primed and ready, not overhyped, for this Saturday’s opening match against Pool B underdogs Romania.

The Grand Slam champions and world number one-ranked team have stern challenges ahead of them in this four-match pool campaign, with defending champions South Africa and Six Nations rivals Scotland their final two opponents in determining which pair of teams reaches next month’s quarter-finals in Paris. Yet assistant coach John Fogarty on Monday stressed the importance of setting the right tone and finding the right emotional pitch from day one, even if Ireland are expected to defeat a team ranked 18 places below them in the World Rugby standings.