BRING ’EM ON
Nothing to fear from the All Blacks, says hat-trick hero Jordan
IRELAND are targeting world domination — beginning with victories over Argentina and New Zealand this month, according to Jordan Larmour.
Joe Schmidt’s squad arrived back in Dublin this morning with the 26-man group that travelled to Chicago set to link up with those who remained at Carton House tomorrow.
Preparations will then begin for next Saturday’s clash with the Pumas at Lansdowne Road before the big one against New Zealand, the back-to-back World Cup winners, on November 17.
Ireland beat the All Blacks for the time in 111 years at Soldier Field in 2016, but a first victory on Irish soil is the target for Schmidt’s men.
And Larmour (right), who stole the show with a hat-trick against Italy in Chicago, is relishing the chance to knock New Zealand off their perch.
‘Everyone is up for the (All Blacks) challenge but we are up for Argentina next week,’ he said.
‘Looking to the All Blacks, no one is scared of them, no one is afraid of them. They are a quality team. So are we. We just need to turn up on the day and we can turn them over.’
There are now only 12
games between now and Ireland’s World Cup opener against Scotland in Yokohama on September 22. The bookies make Ireland 9/2 to claim the Webb Ellis trophy in Japan next year and those odds will only be slashed further if they topple the men in black this month. Schmidt’s men could potentially usurp New Zealand as the No 1 team in the World Rugby rankings with a win against Steve Hansen’s side in Dublin. ‘Long term, we want to be world champions,’ Larmour added. ‘But there is a good bit of rugby to be played. ‘There are three more huge games coming up this month. Then with the Six Nations coming up, we just want to keep building on performance. We will look at this game, review it, and try to keep building and keep the momentum up. ‘We want to keep getting better. But the sky is the limit for this team.’ Ireland’s squad will assemble in Carton House tomorrow afternoon to prepare for the visit of Argentina on Saturday. Schmidt also issued an injury update on Peter O’Mahony and Rob Kearney, who are both managing shoulder injuries. ‘Peter’s fine and trained fully during this week,’ he said. ‘Rob, he’d be a chance. I think he probably will struggle to make Tuesday’s training which might mean that Saturday might be too soon for him but I’ll have a better idea once I hit the ground on Monday morning and touch base with them. ‘He’ll be straight into camp and I’ll catch up with him then and so will the medics and we’ll make a decision on the back of that.’