Make your presence felt, Ryan
JAMES RYAN must show “presence” today, says Irish captain Rory Best.
Lock Ryan, right, will make his first Test start as a 21-year-old against Argentina.
Skipper Best said: “What we’ve told James is that it doesn’t matter how old you are, go out and show us what we’ve seen from you with Leinster and the Under-20s. He’s a genuine physical presence and there aren’t too many of them in Ireland. “We’re getting better at producing them but the gene pool is a little bit smaller than, say, South Africa. “But the hardest thing is to go out and impose your own game on the opposition.” England replacements: Hartley, Marler, Williams, Isiekwe, Lawes, Youngs, Francis, Rokoduguni Samoa replacements: Leiataua, Lay. Sasagi, Lemalu, Treviranus, Matavao, Lee-Jo, Taulagi Referee: A Brace (Ire) Kick-off: 3pm TV: Sky Sports Action REPORTS IT IS November 2008 and a shy teenager from Gorseinon is standing motionless on the halfway line of the Millennium Stadium. He is staring at a line of riled All Blacks who are staring back.
Around him in the stadium all hell is breaking loose. Roars of ‘Wales, Wales’ cascade down as the freeze frame continues. There is danger but exhilaration too. Leigh Halfpenny is transfixed. He has never felt more alive.
Wales’s refusal to budge postHaka in a direct challenge to New Zealand created two of the most spellbinding minutes of non-sport seen in a sporting arena.
Nine years on Halfpenny said: “Just thinking about it now, the hairs are standing up on the back of my neck. It was an incredible moment.
“The All Blacks had just finished their Haka and they went to walk off but they saw we weren’t moving and they were thinking ‘We’re not moving either’.
“You could hear the crowd, who realised something was going on that was pretty iconic, just erupt.
“We were on our home patch, in our stadium and we were adamant we weren’t going to move. It was a stand-off. Eventually the All Blacks moved and we were able to go ahead. It was brilliant.”
Wales, energised by the whole entrancing scene, led 9-6 at halftime but normal service resumed after the break as they conceded 23 unanswered points to extend their barren run against New Zealand.
It continues to this day. Twentynine consecutive defeats against the All Blacks and counting. New