Conway’s praise for Ireland’s ‘savages’

Munster star hails team’s efforts after Twickenham mauling raised doubts

Andrew Conway has paid tribute to Ireland’s resolve in refusing to panic after their record 57-15 loss to England at Twickenham ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

Munster star Conway stormed in for Ireland’s bonus-point try in Sunday’s 27-3 thumping of Scotland that allowed Joe Schmidt’s men to start their tournament in style in Yokohama.

Ireland’s comprehensive humbling in London on August 10 prompted questions about head coach Schmidt’s World Cup plans, but Conway revealed there had never been any talk of great change in the wake of that loss.

Conway hailed Ireland’s forward pack as a bunch of sharply-focused “savages” for their aggressive display that set the tone for Sunday’s potent victory.

Asked if the win offered some vindication for Schmidt’s long-term vision, Conway said: “You take lessons from that, you don’t panic and think that all the good work from the last six years isn’t there.

“There’s an experienced group there, and they know that bad days do happen and you’d rather have that in August than (from) September to November.

“Our life is way easier when the forwards perform like they did against Scotland; they were savages.

“They were nicely pumped up and ready for everything, they backed everything up with their actions.

“It’s a joy to play with this pack when they are playing like that.

“When the forwards are doing it up front we need to back that up and not give the opposition an easy ride out wide.

“But if they’re getting off the line and dominating collisions, it’s a whole different world for us out wide, because we’ve got time to read, to see what’s in front of us and what they are planning.”

Conway toasted his seventh try for Ireland by laying the credit at the feet of scrum-half Conor Murray, whose quick thinking he explained helped Ireland exploit an exposed blindside.

The 28-year-old winger has raced quickly from a nervous wait to find out whether he would make Ireland’s final 31-man World Cup squad, to bagging his debut try in the tournament.

Ireland will roll on to face hosts Japan in Shizuoka on Saturday, with Conway always prepared to put collective interests ahead of personal gain.

“That day was a tough day, I wasn’t wrong,” said Conway, looking back on the day spent waiting to discover his World Cup selection fate.

“But since then obviously you just turn the page. Once you’re in you’re in.

“I know myself that if Earlsy had been fully fit I probably wouldn’t have trained this week.

“But that doesn’t really matter, I just need to stay as ready as I can be constantly, and the chances will come.”

Meanwhile, Peter O’mahony and Bundee Aki are “on track” to be fit to face Japan in Ireland’s second Cup.

Flanker O’mahony and centre Aki were both forced out of the 27-3 win over Scotland after head injury assessments (HIAS).

Head coach Joe Schmidt lamented Ireland’s six-day turnaround from the Scotland clash to the Japan encounter, given O’mahony and Aki could need the same amount of days to complete the head injury return-to-play protocols.

A spokesman has now confirmed the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) hopes that both O’mahony and Aki will be ready and available to face the tournament hosts on Saturday.