Caelan Doris promises Ireland will 'stand up for each other' against the Boks in season finale
STAND UP: Caelan Doris calls on his teammates to stand up for each other during an Ireland rugby captain's run. Pic: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Ireland captain Caelan Doris gave off an air of calm authority as the massive Test against the world champion Springboks in Durban came into sharp focus.
Doris will be vital as a player and leader, ensuring he and his team don’t get on the wrong side of referee Karl Dickson while also playing on the ragged edge and not taking a step back against the Boks. It’s a fine line but one that needs to be straddled.
Ireland lost the first Test in Pretoria by 27-20 and are desperate to end their season on a high with victory at Kings Park in Durban.
To do that they will have to subdue a home team that was below its best last week and still found a way to win. In fairness, Ireland weren’t at their sharpest either.
“We had a good meeting on Wednesday in particular where we saw some clips that we felt wasn't us,” Doris said.
“It wasn't what we've shown over the last number of years in terms of some of the smaller things, our work rate for each other, standing up for each other a little bit, our response to a couple of positives from them and not responding how we would have in the past.
“It brought up a little bit of hurt and it was frustrating seeing those images back and it makes you want to fly into the match as soon as possible.
“We had a good training session off the back of that and I feel lads have a bit of an edge off the back of that.
“We also spoke about our calm, doing things our way, which we can't go away from either. It's trying to strike that balance between being calm, doing things how we do them, but having a bit of an edge and aggression and edge to us as well.”
Doris was quick to emphasise that by “standing up for each other” did not mean piling in for an all out brawl.
After RG Snyman dumped scrumhalf Craig Casey in a late tackle last week, there is a sense that they have to front up more against that kind of bullying tactic.
“I don’t mean necessarily piling in on top (of an opponent) but through how we play the game,” Doris said.
“I think it was a scrum after and they dominated that scrum and it goes from there. So it's not necessarily the pushing and shoving, it's more so how we can implement and show a reaction in the actual game.”
Ireland have not lost back-to-back Test matches since the 2021 Six Nations. In recent years, every time they have lost, they have responded with a strong performance.
In 2022, Ireland lost the first Test against the All Blacks and returned a week later to beat the mighty All Blacks in Dunedin and then went on to win the series.
Last year they lost the World Cup quarterfinal against the All Blacks, had some months to stew on it, but returned with a good win over France in Marseille in the first round of the 2024 Six Nations. They’ve tapped into some of those memories as part of the build-up this week.
“We've touched on some of those, that New Zealand one in particular where we feel we didn't get things right, and bounced back and showed a bit of resilience in the second Test, so we have shown that this week,” Doris said.
“I always say it to you guys, there's a load of belief in how we do things here, the quality of players and the quality of coaches. I think we'll lean on that belief and we want to finish with a good performance and a good result at the end of a long season.”
Doris said that his phone had been busy with texts of congratulations after being named captain in place of Peter O’Mahony, who was relegated to the bench.
“Yeah, there's been a fair few texts which has been nice,” Doris said.
“I do feel more comfortable. With any new job or responsibility, there's probably a bit of self-doubt and what not.
“Having that week against Italy, the swapover at the end of games when Pete was coming off, then with Leinster getting to do it four or five times, it's a little bit more comfortable at this stage.
“I'm still not fully used to the role, I'm still early days but I'm enjoying it.” He’ll enjoy it even more with a victory over the Boks.
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