‘Irrepressible’ Larmour impresses but Schmidt likely
JORDAN LARMOUR possesses qualities that no other Irish player has. That much we can say for certain.
As he led Samoa a merry dance, it was difficult not to wonder what Rob Kearney made of it all. Seventeen carries for 66 metres as well as 11 defenders beaten, Larmour served up the latest reminder of his devastating ability.
As much as the 22-year old’s searing lines of running were a joy to watch, it is the manner in which he is putting the nuts and bolts of his game together that has led to even louder calls for him to start in this weekend’s quarter-final.
On form, it makes sense, but Joe Schmidt has invariably gone back to Rob Kearney for the big occasions andthe experienced campaigner has rarely let Ireland down. In terms of forcing the issue however, Larmour could not be doing any more.
With Kearney sitting out the win over Samoa with a slight knock, as he did against Scotland earlier in the tournament, Larmour seized his opportunity.
His outside break and little showand-go to create Johnny Sexton’s try was a moment of magic and the offload that followed wasn’t bad either.
When Larmour comes into the line, his presence spreads panic in the opposition defence, which hasn’t always been the case with Kearney, who, to his credit, has rediscovered his try-scoring touch recently.
Whether Schmidt opts to play Larmour on the wing in the last-eight clash with New Zealand is doubtful, even though neither Keith Earls and Jacob Stockdale have got off the mark yet. Stockdale will certainly be hoping his team-mate isn’t moved out wide, because he knows his place could be under threat.
“He was brilliant,” Stockdale said of Larmour’s man-of-the-match performance against Samoa on Saturday.
“His footwork is probably just as good as Cheslin Kolbe’s. We saw him bring that out. We all know how good he is. I do especially having played against him and now playing with him. I thought he had a great game.”
Larmour’s ability to play all across the back-line makes him an ideal candidate to wear the number 23 jersey.
As much as he won’t like hearing that, Schmidt values his versatility, which is why the youngster has been shifted around positionally so often.
“Jordan keeps putting his hand up and that’s one thing we really like about him,” the Ireland head coach enthused.
“He puts his hand up no matter
where he ends up. I think his flexibility, his enthusiasm – he’s irrepressible. I don’t know how many tackles he slipped. I thought when he took the outside break and got the fend and then the timing and the accuracy of his inside offload to Johnny for the try was top-notch.
“He’s a youngster who we try to have involved; we’re just not sure where sometimes. But we swap him around because he’s so versatile and because his skill-set and his enthusiasm allow him to survive wherever we put him. I thought he was really good.”
Ireland have often lacked that ability to create something out of nothing, which Larmour offers in spades. That could well end up being the spark that Ireland need to break the glass ceiling and make it to a first semi-final. “He was great,” defence coach Andy Farrell said, echoing the thoughts of Schmidt and Stockdale.
“He was hard work to get hold of, that’s for sure. He’s a strong young lad as well. He’s a determined kid and I’m really pleased for him because he’s been dying to show everyone in the World Cup what he’s got and certainly everyone got a nice little taste of it.”
Larmour will fully believe that his time is now, but Kearney hasn’t gone away just yet and, when it comes down to it, Schmidt has a tendency to revert to the tried and tested.