ON THE UP & CUP Ed future is unclear Scots didn’t half do well
Hooker Herring admits Ireland are now ready to take on the World
IRELAND hooker Rob Herring believes the best is yet to come from Joe Schmidt’s side as they toast their series win over Australia.
A 20-16 success at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney brought the curtain down on Ireland’s most successful season in style.
Their first series triumph over one of the southern hemisphere’s traditional big three since 1979 added to their dominant Grand Slam success.
With captain Rory Best out of the tour through injury, his Ulster team-mate Herring was one of the relatively unheralded players to get an opportunity on this tour, starting the first Test and coming off the bench in games two and three.
Despite fielding three very different teams for each of the matches in a compelling series, Ireland managed to come from 1-0 down to win in Melbourne and Sydney and clinch the Lansdowne Trophy. With the 2019 World Cup in Japan looming large over next season, Herring is excited about what the team can achieve next.
“The last year has been massive for us,” he said. “But we know that as a squad we still have more to give.
“We have another tough autumn international period coming up and then the Six Nations, leading into a World Cup. These next 18 months are going to be massive to keep building on.
“Being out there on the pitch after the game, the support we’ve had throughout this tour has been phenomenal and we were out there, clapping on the crowd – it’s just those memories that will live forever.
“Hopefully, there is more to come, it’s a massive 18 months coming up for us. We’ll keep building to the World Cup.”
Ireland survived some nervous moments in Saturday’s game but Herring believes the confidence they have built through their successful campaign stood them in good stead.
“There’s a lot of belief in the squad and we’ve shown throughout the ALTHOUGH bitterly disappointed to lose out on the series, Wallabies No.8 David Pocock was full of praise for the Irish effort.
“It is an incredibly disappointing loss,” Pocock (left) said. “The finishers came on and lifted the energy, it was a huge amount of effort and it is incredibly disappointing. Credit to Ireland last year that we can come back and hold out in those big moments,” he said. “That’s the kind of belief you need to keep building on going into a World Cup. We’re quite a tight group and from these three and a half weeks we’ve been on tour, that sense of being tight-knit has grown considerably.
“That showed in the last few Tests.
When we put our minds to it, we can be pretty good.” through the series, they have been tough. Their game-management has been really good, you don’t become No.2 in the world for nothing, it finishes a really good year for them.
“Each game has been tough. They’re a good opposition, it’s been a real arm wrestle.”
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EDDIE JONES has been told there are no guarantees he will stay in charge through to the World Cup.
England arrive home today buoyed by beating South Africa in Cape Town, but still on the wrong end of a series defeat.
His bosses have backed Jones for now but RFU chairman Andy Coslett said: “You’re asking for unconditional support – only my children get that. And, even then, not always! It’s not something you give because you’re under assessment the whole time.
“Eddie has tremendous credit at the union for what he’s done and the win in Cape Town was great, but you have to keep a sense of proportion about this.”
Scott Wisemantel will be offered the attack coach role full-time after England matched the Springboks try for try across the series.
Sth Africa Argentina England
15 44 SCOTLAND head coach Gregor Townsend praised half-backs George Horne and Adam Hastings after his side demolished Argentina in Resistencia. Townsend said: “There was about a 140-cap difference between the two sets of half-backs and Landajo and Sanchez are quality players in the Argentina team – I love watching them play. “That was a huge
Scotland
25 challenge for our guys on their second starts for Scotland.
“But they played with positivity and went for gaps they knew were there. It was really encouraging for the future.”