TARGET SEXTON
Scotland planning to ‘smash’ Ireland playmaker Johnny
SCOTLAND will set out to ‘smash’ Ireland playmaker Johnny Sexton in Yokohama this morning as they bid for a flying start to their World Cup campaign.
Defence coach Matt Taylor admits targeting the Irish fly-half and reigning World Player of the Year will be a key part of Scotland’s game plan in their Pool A opener.
Referencing the Six Nations clash between the sides earlier this year, when Sexton went off injured after just 23 minutes, Taylor has turned up the heat ahead of the mouth-watering clash.
‘We’re looking to put a lot of pressure on him like we did last time we played them, so that’s going to be an objective again for us,’ said Taylor.
‘We did a good a job on him back then and I think a lot of teams took a leaf out of our book in terms of getting up and trying to smash him.
‘He’s a brave player, he plays it right to the line. But if he plays right to the line, you tend to smash people — and that is what we intend to do. They’ve kept him a bit wrapped up in cotton wool over the last period because he has taken a lot of hits and knocks. We will
certainly be trying to do that to him and they will be trying to do that to Finn (Russell) as well.
‘Finn and Johnny are very good players but they are quite different. Finn plays things as he sees them I’d say, while Johnny is a bit more regimented in the way Joe Schmidt likes to play.’
Taylor also revealed that the Scotland coaching team would be talking to referee Wayne Barnes over what they perceive as illegal Irish tactics at the breakdown.
‘They do have a habit of holding on to people in and around the ruck, so we just need to alert the referee to that before the game,’ he added.
‘I think if they get away with that, then it’s hard to defend. So we will make the referee aware.’
Meanwhile, Scotland captain Stuart McInally is confident that he and his team-mates can get off to a winning start against an Irish side who go into the tournament
ranked No1 in the world. McInally is adamant that the Scots have no intention of simply making up the numbers and, despite their inconsistent form, he believes they can challenge for glory in the Far East.
‘We feel we’ve got the potential to beat any side, especially in our pool, and then further on if we get our game right,’ said the Edinburgh hooker.
‘We will be looking to beat Ireland, of course, then our attention will turn to Samoa, then Russia and Japan.
‘We’re not here just to take part. Obviously we are here because we want to win and, for me, that starts against Ireland.
‘We’ve been here in Japan for a couple of weeks now and have done a lot of training, so we have a lot of good stuff in the bank. We’re ready to go.’
McInally, who was in Scotland’s World Cup squad in 2015 only to be ruled out on the eve of the tournament due to a neck injury, is relishing what will be the biggest honour of his career to date.
He also believes that criticism of his opposite number Rory Best, Ireland’s vastly experienced captain and hooker, is wide of the mark.
Best’s form seems to have dipped dramatically heading into the tournament, with his erratic throwing contributing to a malfunctioning Irish line-out in the warm-up games.
‘I feel privileged and honoured to captain Scotland for the first World Cup game,’ said McInally (right).
‘It feels like this game has been a long time coming and I can’t wait to get started. I’ve not been aware of any of that criticism (around Best). ‘We look at players, watch the footage. We watched Rory against England, Wales and Italy and the Six Nations before that. ‘I think he’s an excellent player. I have had the pleasure of playing against him a couple of times now. ‘Off the pitch, he’s very friendly but on the pitch he’s a fierce competitor. ‘He has played for Ireland a number of times and I know it means a lot to him. I’ve got a lot of respect for him as a player. He’s very good around the park, good over ball, a good set-piece player. He’s a player I respect a lot and I’m looking forward to going head on with him.’