Captain expects Ireland to be back to their Best
HICH Ireland team will we see in this year’s Six Nations Championship? The one that underachieved in last year’s tournament, finishing third with two wins and a draw? Or the one that excelled itself in the autumn with that historic victory over the All Blacks?
Certainly, if the Irish play this afternoon with the passion and precision they produced in Chicago against New Zealand, Scotland could be in for a torrid time of it. Yet, no matter how magnificent that achievement was, no matter how convincingly Ireland have won their last two matches against Vern Cotter’s team, the fact remains that, when the dust settled on last year’s championship, there was only a single point between the teams: Ireland had five; Scotland had four.
So, as Rory Best, the visitors’ captain, said yesterday, the onus on his team now is to show that their improvement in the autumn has become a lasting one. “We stood still a little bit last year in the championship,” the Ulster hooker said yesterday. “And we have to make sure that all the work we put in to make it a good autumn just gone . . . we need to make sure we push on with that.
“And the only way we can make sure we push on from that is to look back and say, ‘We did this well and that well, we didn’t do that so well’. Scotland in Murrayfield – I keep saying it’s a really, really tough place to start, but what a way to see if we pick up from where we left off and improve. We are going to have to improve on the performances we produced last November.”
In 2015 and again last year, the game between Ireland and Scotland was on the last day of the tournament. Two years ago, chasing a big score that would give them the title, the Irish put 40 points on their hosts, who could only manage 10. Last year, while there was less to play for, Ireland won 35-25.
These big performances at the end of a series of games have been a hallmark of Joe Schmidt’s time as head coach, but on last summer’s tour to South Africa and again in the Autumn Tests, by contrast, the best displays have come first. This could mean that Ireland have cracked a problem that has beset Scotland in recent seasons – how to hit the ground running when a tournament starts – but Best is not taking that for granted. Instead, he warned that his team must be prepared for an early onslaught from their hosts, and that to withstand that, they have to ensure they match Scotland for emotional commitment.
“I think we’re confident we’ve put ourselves in a position to produce a performance,” the 34-year-old skipper continued. “Obviously there are a lot of factors that will contribute as to whether we do that or not, and 15 men in Scottish jerseys will dictate most of that. We’ve had a good two weeks’ preparation. We generally prepare well and it’s just making sure we channel that in the right way.
“Coming to Murrayfield, we know Scotland will come out and there will be a lot of emotion. One of the great things in world rugby is the playing of Flower of Scotland and the emotion that evokes in them.
“We need to make sure that we don’t lose those early battles; we don’t lose those moments early in the game because they’re more emotionally charged than us. We have to make sure that we appreciate we’re playing for Ireland, we’re pulling on a green jersey, and, look, we have to be 100 per cent disciplined but we also can’t be afraid to let out a little emotion ourselves.”
Vern Cotter raised a few eyebrows earlier in the week when he said his own players were nervous, explaining he would be worried if they were not showing nerves before such a big match. Best offered a similar analysis yesterday, saying he had noticed nerves, and even fear, among his team-mates.
“There’s the excitement. You can feel the nervous energy around the place and people don’t know what to be up to. But, obviously, coupled with that there is fear, and you have to come to places like this and, if you don’t have that little bit of fear, you’re probably not in a good place. And I think for us it’s definitely a combination of it all and the biggest thing is just excitement.
“This is a fantastic championship and I’ve loved playing in every game so far. Hopefully there’s still a few more to come but, really, when you look back these will be some of the best memories that you’ll have – the championship and these 24 hours.
“Now there is no more training to be done, it’s all just about trying to get a little bit of sleep, getting a little bit of rest, maybe rehearsing a few things in your head.”