Ireland suffer setback as Aki is banned
Key centre loses fight to overturn his red card All Blacks issue warning ahead of quarter-final
in Tokyo
Ireland will be without Bundee Aki for their World Cup quarter-final against the All Blacks in Tokyo on Saturday after the centre was handed a three-week ban for a dangerous tackle on Samoa fly-half Ulupano Seuteni.
Aki was sent off by Australian referee Nic Berry 29 minutes into Ireland’s 47-5 victory in Fukuoka which ensured their qualification for the knockout stages.
Joe Schmidt, the Ireland head coach, was hopeful that the Connacht player might avoid a suspension, with the Irish Rugby Football Union even flying a specialist lawyer, Derek Hegarty, to Japan for last night’s hearing.
Ireland believe Aki had little chance to readjust his body after the Samoan reached a loose ball first. However, after deliberating for more than three hours, the three-man disciplinary panel ruled that there were “no clear and obvious mitigating factors”.
“Although the tackle occurred quickly, the player’s tackle height was high and it was accepted he did not make a definite attempt to change his height in order to avoid the ball carrier’s head,” the verdict read. “The committee did not accept that there was sufficient evidence of a sudden drop in the ball carrier’s height.”
A six-week entry point ban was reduced to three for Aki’s good disciplinary record. However, it effectively Sanction: Bundee Aki has been given a three-week ban for his challenge against Samoa ends the player’s World Cup with a maximum of three games remaining. The IRFU has 48 hours to consider whether to launch an appeal. It said in a statement that it was “disappointed” but would wait to read the full report before deciding whether to appeal. Schmidt was yesterday warned by New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen not to waste too much time studying the All Blacks as they might deliberately “set him up” by not revealing all that they intend to put into Saturday’s “do-or-die” game.
Even though Ireland have beaten New Zealand in two of their past three encounters, there have been rumblings about the effectiveness of Schmidt’s rigid approach. Ireland have faded across the past nine months, albeit rising to No1 in the rankings at a certain juncture.
“We know that Joe does a lot of study,” said Hansen. “That can be a strength and a weakness. I might be able to set him up. Ireland are pretty set in how they play. Why would they want to change? It’s been very successful for them.
“I think they are better than just a one-man team. But the 10 [Johnny Sexton] is pretty important. Ireland are a quality side. They’ve been No1 this year. It has taken them a long time to get there – they obviously enjoyed it [winning] – so they want to keep doing it. We played them in November and it was a titanic struggle, but on the day they were the better side. Most teams we play get 10 per cent better than they normally do. Ireland are no different. The big difference here is that it is a do-or-die game for both teams. Our last three results against them are a loss, a win, a loss so there won’t be any complacency in our camp.”
New Zealand were quick to rebuff the notion that they might be undercooked. They played a highintensity opener against the Springboks a month ago before routine encounters against Namibia and Canada. Their final fixture against Italy in Toyota City on Saturday fell foul to Typhoon Hagibis.
There are echoes of their pool stage build-up in 2007 when they were barely tested before being thrown into the maelstrom of a quarter-final against France in Cardiff. That loss (20-18) scarred the All Blacks, leading to a complete overhaul of their elite level set-up.
“Having a week off is not a bad thing,” said Hansen. “We’re quite excited by the fact. It’s allowed us to work really hard. We are right where we want to be.”
years against the world champions will increase exponentially.
Sexton may not be Ireland’s captain but he absolutely sets the tone for this squad. He calls the shots. He drives the standards. With Bundee Aki’s suspension confirmed last night, Ireland needed someone to get their match week off on the front foot and Sexton was that man.
He immediately called out the “negativity” that has been swirling around the squad during this World Cup, describing it as “pretty strange” and saying the group felt “confident” and “positive in how we’ve been building”.
Even if that is just talk – and the criticism of Ireland after their defeat by Japan and their stodgy performance against Russia was entirely justified – it felt significant that Sexton should come out on the offensive.
He made a point, too, of saying how different the atmosphere felt compared with four years ago, when Ireland were fatigued physically and emotionally after their bruising encounter with France. Sexton hit the right notes.
“New Zealand or South Africa, for us it was much the same,” he shrugged of the fact that Ireland might have avoided New Zealand had they finished top of Pool A. “They pose different challenges but they’re both world-class teams and we knew either fixture was going to be really tough. This is the one we’ve got and we’ve got to roll with it now.”
But it was his final answer that was most telling. Asked whether it was the biggest match of his career, Sexton did not hesitate. “Yeah, it’s the biggest,” he said. “And the most exciting. You feel it when you wake up this morning and your mind just goes straight to the game. So sleep will probably be a challenge this week.
“But yeah, it’s where you want to be as a kid watching. And it’s where you want to challenge yourself. I am sure the country will go mad on Saturday morning. I can’t wait.”