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Rory Best insists Ireland are fully insulated from Eddie Jones’ verbal jousting ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations opener against England in Dublin.
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England boss Jones’ latest shot across Ireland’s bows has been to suggest Joe Schmidt’s men could be sunk by the praise that has been heaped upon them after a stellar 2018.
Ireland claimed just a third-ever Grand Slam in last year’s Six Nations, before toppling back-to-back world champions New Zealand in November.
England head coach Jones has warned Ireland “praise can make you weak” ahead of this weekend’s Aviva Stadium showdown – but Best has revealed Schmidt’s healthy realism keeps his squad more than grounded.
“I think it’s maybe the lack of praise behind closed doors from Joe that protects us,” said Best.
“But ultimately, it’s a bit like everyone talks about who are the favourites, and that kind of talk doesn’t really affect us.
“Because we know how to prepare. That’s why you need experienced players, because they know if you’re not preparing well.
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“You can see the signs in that early, and Joe knows those signs as well.
“We’re protected from it because we want to keep improving, keep getting better and we’re not fixated with sound bites that come from wherever.
“Or tags that are attached to different teams or people, and the coaches here keep pushing us to get better, and we want to get better too.
“It’s an ambitious player group, but it’s an ambitious coaching group too.”
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Head coach Schmidt has made one of the boldest calls of his five-year Ireland tenure in shifting British and Irish Lions centre Robbie Henshaw to full-back to face England.
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Henshaw has not featured at 15 for Ireland since his 2013 Test debut, but Schmidt has been running the Leinster star in the back-field role in training since last summer.
Schmidt’s high-pressure training forces his players into inch-perfect routines, and captain Best insists that relentless work behind the scenes keeps driving standards ever higher.
“I think Joe puts a lot of pressure on you, a lot of verbal pressure on you when you’re training,” said Best.
“But I know from speaking to some of the England boys on tours that that’s what Eddie Jones does in England training as well.
“He creates an atmosphere where it’s almost more pressurised than the game, so that is what Joe creates with us too.
“And it means there are less surprises when it comes to the match.
“There are always things that surprise you, but you can help minimise that by the pressure that you put on yourselves in training.”
England will field a potent line-up with the fit-again Vunipola brothers and Manu Tuilagi all back into the starting XV, with an all-British and Irish Lions tight five.
And despite Ireland producing sumptuous rugby to see off New Zealand 16-9 in November, Ulster stalwart Best insisted Schmidt’s men will need their best-ever performance to prevail this weekend.
“We’re going to need the best game of rugby that this group has ever played, because that’s what it will take to win this weekend,” said Best.
“They will be physical, but they will also play with a lot of width and speed; that’s their plan.
“There weren’t many surprises in their team selection.
“You need to get on the front foot, up front. That’s what they’ll be coming to do.
“But that’s what we want to do as well. It will be about who can win that arm wrestle up front.”
CREDIT: Press Association
Watch: England’s Elliot Daly speaks to RugbyPass
Comments on RugbyPass
In the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getitng to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
5 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
6 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
5 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
6 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
6 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
18 Go to comments