Ireland look to veterans for Murrayfield trip
Ryan wants to mix it up in Murrayfield
JOE SCHMIDT is poised to turn to the experience of Rob Kearney and Sean O’Brien as he seeks to get Ireland’s Six Nations campaign back on track in Murrayfield on Saturday. Kearney was omitted for the tournament opener last weekend with Robbie Henshaw struggling at full-back as Eddie Jones’ England secured a comprehensive 32-20 victory at Lansdowne Road. However, with Garry Ringrose ruled out this weekend due to a hamstring injury, Henshaw is set to switch to outside centre alongside Bundee Aki, allowing veteran Kearney to reclaim the No 15 jersey. In the back-row, O’Brien is expected to start at openside after impressing off the bench last weekend, with Josh van der Flier dropping out of the starting side. CJ Stander’s facial injury could hand Leinster’s Jack Conan a huge opportunity at No 8, with Connacht’s Quinn Roux in line to replace the injured Devin Toner in the second row next to James Ryan. Keith Earls has been cleared to play and is likely to hold off the claims of Adam Byrne and Jordan Larmour on the right wing. The return of O’Brien would
THIS has been a strange week for James Ryan. The second row has played just 40 times in a professional career that dates back less than three years (14 Tests for Ireland, 26 senior outings for Leinster) and, remarkably, has only tasted defeat on four occasions.
The first was in Ireland’s opening loss to Australia during last summer’s successful series. That was followed by Leinster’s defeats away to Toulouse and Munster this season, and the fourth came last weekend in the Six Nations home humbling by England.
Suffice to say, the 22-year-old Ryan is not accustomed to the extensive navel-gazing and intense scrutiny that follows defeat and admits it has taken some adjustment — but he stresses that a positive attitude is essential for Saturday’s difficult challenge against Scotland in Edinburgh.
‘Yeah, I’d be lying if I said the mood was the same,’ he concedes.
‘You’re coming in on a Sunday and a lot of the lads are definitely a bit down in themselves. But some of the lads have mentioned that it’s important you don’t feel sorry for yourself either. The great thing about rugby, and having a game the week after a loss, is that you have the chance to make things right. Hopefully, this week, we can do that.’
The biggest talking point following Saturday’s English lesson has been Ireland’s failure to handle the naked aggression of Eddie Jones’s men. Ireland coach Joe Schmidt pointed to a lack of comparable energy in his players, but Ryan prefers to focus on a lack of ‘accuracy’ (this week’s buzzword among the squad) in their play.
‘I really couldn’t sense it (absence of energy) as much, from my perspective, I think the accuracy wasn’t where it needed to be,’ he says.
‘Some of our ruck work let them disrupt us in that area. Some of our passing, too. If we get our accuracy in all the different components of our game, the energy will come with that.’
However, while the accuracy angle is very much on message, the Leinster second row feels that Ireland need to show more variety in their attack by challenging the defence more than repeated charges into contact managed last weekend.
‘I think we need more variation. If they are flying out of the line, whoever has the ball can tip on or play in behind. It is not the first time it has happened. We faced that kind of aggressive defence before,’ he adds.
‘We are just going to look at getting set that bit quicker this week. If we do that, it will make a big difference.’
With Devin Toner joining Iain Henderson and Tadhg Beirne on the injured list, there is a greater onus on Ryan in Murrayfield. Despite still only being in the early stages of his international career, he is now the senior second row — Quinn Roux is expected to pack down next to him on Saturday having not made the initial Six Nations squad.
It is a role he is comfortable with but Ryan acknowledges the need for a collective improvement in the Grand Slam champions against a dangerous Scottish side who are buzzing on the back of an impressive opening win against Italy.
‘We have a few injuries (in second row) but we definitely have a lot of strength in depth. Guys have stepped up but there is an onus on the guys who are here to step up, too.
‘Scotland are a serious side and they have serious threats in strike-runners like Stuart Hogg and Blair Kinghorn and Finn Russell at 10. They have a real X-factor and it’s a whole different challenge this week.
‘But there’s certainly no panicking. We definitely trust our processes and we are looking to make things right,’ stresses Ryan.
The game at Murrayfield must now be considered a must-win for Ireland, both in terms of their Six Nations hopes and in a bid to restore confidence after last weekend’s shock to the system.
‘There’s a bit of urgency about us, which I don’t think is any harm.
‘It’s good having a bit of edge about you in the week leading into a game, that bit of fear drives you on.
‘It is knockout rugby, isn’t it?’