Farrell: 'Ireland can learn from England'
Andy Farrell has called on Ireland to channel the spirit of England’s 2007 World Cup run to turn their Japanese quest on its head.
Ireland suffered a stunning 19-12 loss to host nation Japan on Sunday, handing the rugby world a craved upset to light up this edition of the tournament.
Now head coach Joe Schmidt’s side must see off Russia on Thursday and Samoa on Saturday, October 12, to progress from Pool A to the quarter-finals.
And defence coach Farrell has insisted Ireland must follow the example of the England side of 2007, who flipped a torrid start upside down to reach that tournament’s final.
'Things will happen that aren’t going to plan and we need to stay positive with each other and the referee in the way that we play the game as well.'https://t.co/s4kiN2sGWe
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 2, 2019
England were thumped 36-0 by South Africa in the group stages in France only to regroup and meet the Springboks again in the final.
Mark Cueto’s controversially disallowed try ensured South Africa triumphed 15-6, but Farrell insisted England’s reaction can prove instructive for Ireland’s class of 2019.
“The Japan defeat is a setback, but it’s also something you can use in the right manner,” said Farrell, who was part of England’s World Cup squad in France in 2007.
“If you look at the last two World Cups, South Africa losing to Japan, then going on to lose the semi-final 20-18. Then in 2011 France seemed to be in disarray throughout that competition and there’s a debate on whether they should have won the final or not.
'He’d obviously prefer to be playing at 10 but these are the days where you put the squad first'https://t.co/kFnWwV7vmj
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 1, 2019
“And even in 2007 I was part of the England squad that had a thrashing off South Africa. There was a bit of turmoil in that camp but then, managed to get to the final, and there was some debate about a try that was disallowed.
“So you can use these things to your advantage. They are not ideal, but if you use them to your advantage then you can grow. After a couple of days, we understand the reasons why we lost, we’re in good spirits, back on track – and ready to prove a point.”
Schmidt was left to lament the refereeing performance of Angus Gardner in the loss to Japan. He revealed the tournament’s officiating bosses had informed them three penalties awarded against them were incorrect.
Farrell joked Ireland have been training in rugby league style to make sure they stay onside against Russia on Thursday.
.@IrishRugby’s team to face @russiarugby #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/BMnSYa4RvR
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 1, 2019
But the Ireland defensive specialist also insisted the players must still sharpen up without the ball.
“It’s like any type of error that you make as a team, you’ve got to adapt and have a no excuse mentality,” said Farrell.
“The only point Joe was trying to make was that we’re a side that pride ourselves massively on our discipline.
“We don’t want to go back into our shells, in fact we’ve been practising rugby league this week, going back 10 metres, so that we’re not offside. All we can do is make sure that we are disciplined and we want to show that on Thursday night.
“If you look at that bonus point at the end with Keith Earls chasing back at the death, and the three minutes just before half-time when we kept them out there as well.
“So there was some heroic stuff from certain lads, but it’s not the usual defensive pressure performance you often see from ourselves.
“The stuff that was going on in and around the breakdown is something we need to take care of ourselves.”
Watch: Stephen Ferris on his World Cup memories
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments