Schmidt blames ‘heavy legs’ for Twickenham horror show

Ireland coach warns his team to ‘get better fast’ as injuries to Healy and Murray add to worries

It seemed odd to describe Ireland as undercooked, given the searing heat at Twickenham yesterday, but how else could you explain the gulf in class between the two teams?

Joe Schmidt, the Ireland head coach, seemed as bewildered as his side’s supporters in attempting to explain this record defeat.

This may have been the first hit-out of the summer for most of his frontline players but, even against an England side playing their third World Cup warm-up game, it made for alarming viewing for Schmidt, who admitted his side had to “get better fast” with just two games, both against Wales, left before their World Cup opener against Scotland in Yokohama on Sept 22.

Ireland had gone into the contest with the knowledge that any victory over England would have taken them to No1 in World Rugby’s rankings, but they were made to look second best in all aspects of play against an England side who simply possessed too much power and intensity across the pitch.

This was, for the record, Ireland’s fourth-heaviest defeat in their Test history, topped only by three defeats by New Zealand, most recently the 60-0 drubbing in 2012.

Schmidt admitted that the heavy workload of their recent training camp in Portugal was in part responsible for their sluggishness, describing his players as “underdone and heavy legged”.

Yet the manner and margin of the defeat have thrown up many questions and the time frame to find convincing answers now seems worryingly short.

Ireland’s line-out, normally an area of strength, struggled badly in the face of England’s brilliant defence, Ross Byrne failed to provide a compelling case for his inclusion as the third fly-half, while Ireland’s defence included 34 missed tackles and they lost 19 turnovers at the breakdown.

By the end the contest appeared to be little more than a training run for England, culminating in Sean Cronin’s wayward line-out throw straight to his opposite number Luke Cowan-Dickie, who was able to dive over the line for his side’s eighth try unopposed.

Injuries to Cian Healy (sprained ankle) and Conor Murray (head) only added to a miserable afternoon for a side that only last November were being hailed as strong contenders for the World Cup following their victory over the All Blacks.

“We were underdone, a bit heavy

legged. There doesn’t have to be too much margin between two teams ‘one v one’ for one to be sluggish and other on top of their game,” Schmidt said. “They’ve had two games, this was their third, and they looked sharper.

“I know we can be better than that, I know we have to, and I think the players will take responsibility for making sure they do everything they can for next week and then after that.”

Jordan Larmour’s try in the first half, which put Ireland briefly in the lead, turned out to be the only high point for the visitors.

The game would quickly unravel in the face of fearsome English carrying, embellished with some scintillating decoy running and an imperious all-round display by their front five.

“We can be a lot better and we have to be,” said Rory Best, Ireland’s captain. “That is not up to the standard that we set ourselves. It is hard to describe it without using a lot of profanity. It will not be pleasant viewing.

“We are nowhere near where we need to be. The only upside is that it is the middle of August, not the middle of September.”

Best insisted the problems were fixable, but that it would require more pressure on the players in training. “We have had a few iffy days in the past and come back well against good sides,” he said.

“We have belief in process. We have got to put more pressure on ourselves in training. Sometimes we think we are in a good place but there is nothing quite like the pressure in a game. It either confirms we are in a good spot or not where we want to be. Today was one of those.”

Schmidt will revise his preparation plans to ensure his side are ready for Scotland and it is likely his first-choice side will have to have another run-out before they depart for Japan.

“I think we will bring in a few for next week and probably one or two again for the final weekend,” he said.

“We need to hit the ground running against Scotland; we can’t afford to be mixing and matching too much. We anticipate that we can get better and we are going to have to get better fast because that is nowhere near good enough.”