Ireland coach Joe Schmidt provides update on Johnny Sexton injury after Russia victory
Joe Schmidt has insisted Johnny Sexton will be “fine” to face Samoa despite the fly-half icing his troublesome thigh after being withdrawn in the 35-0 win over Russia.
Sexton captained Ireland for the first time on Thursday night, but was replaced by Jack Carty for the second-half of his side’s five-try win over the Bears.
British and Irish Lions fly-half Sexton had declared himself 100 per cent fit to take on Russia after missing Ireland’s shock 19-12 loss to Japan with a thigh complaint.
But head coach Schmidt still believes Sexton will be ready for Ireland’s final Pool A encounter in Fukuoka on Saturday, October 12.
Joey Carbery was a late withdrawal having suffered another ankle complaint, but Schmidt insisted both men will be ready for the Samoans.
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“Johnny’s all good and will be fine for Samoa, and Joey is good,” said Schmidt.
“I think Joey would have been okay to play, but Conor Murray was very keen to play. So Joey is hopefully fine.”
Rob Kearney, Peter O’Mahony, Rhys Ruddock, Andrew Conway and Garry Ringrose all crossed as Ireland secured a vital bonus-point win over Russia.
The victory puts Ireland back on course for the quarter-finals, with a win over Samoa all that is needed to qualify for the last eight.
The 2019 Rugby World Cup is about to enter its third week and there has been some substantial movement in the latest power rankings, not least due to Japan’s highly impressive win over Ireland in Pool A.https://t.co/HtWAIwHZs9
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 3, 2019
Jordi Murphy lasted just 26 minutes before departing with a rib problem, having only arrived in Japan in midweek to replace the injured Jack Conan.
And now Ireland will wait for an update on the Ulster star before knowing how quickly he will be back to fitness.
“Jordi just got squeezed in the ribs, so he may have popped a rib there. We’re just going to get him checked out,” said Schmidt. “So we’ll see what that comes back like.
“And Rob Kearney I think he’s okay, again we’re going to give him 50 or 60, so making the change when we did, he just felt a little bit tight in the groin. We just felt it was about time to take him off anyway.”
Kearney raced in Ireland’s quickest-ever World Cup try after just 90 seconds, with a typical Schmidt set play drawing immediate dividend.
Ireland laboured through the contest, always likely to seal the bonus-point win but making hard work of their ultimate goal.
Schmidt’s men now have nine days before facing Samoa, with Ireland doubtless keen to rest some tired bodies.
Despite some frustrations Schmidt insisted he remains content with Ireland’s situation, with his side still able to top Pool A even in spite of their shock 19-12 loss to Japan.
“I don’t think we lost our way against Russia we just didn’t convert some chances,” said Schmidt.
“I think there were more things that pleased me than disappointed me definitely. We started well again, with two early tries.
“Then we made a bit of hard work of it. One of the plans we had was to try to get a few scores early if we could.
Yes, let's have a 2 month #RWC https://t.co/OJlwPiMxzR
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 3, 2019
“Because the longer the game goes here the more moisture there is on the air, on the ground and on the ball, so we knew it would get more difficult as time went on.
“And that was probably a little bit of consternation in that third quarter.
“Then probably to finish with the best try of the night at the end. Just to get that 35 point differential and keep a clean sheet.”
Russia boss Lyn Jones and captain Vasily Artemyev both backed Ireland to crank up the levels in their expected quarter-final.
“If they had been playing the All Blacks tonight they would have had a bigger sting in the tail,” said Jones, of Ireland.
“The error count with Ireland is very, very low. You wait for one with Ireland and it just doesn’t come.
“I can’t believe Johnny Sexton’s 34, it feels like only yesterday that he was starting.”
Maybe a few Tier 1 skippers could take a leaf #rwc2019 https://t.co/SbjrKIZ30c
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 3, 2019
Former Blackrock College student Artemyev hailed Sexton and backed Ireland to produce something special come the knockout stages.
“I have every belief that Ireland can go far in this competition,” said Artemyev.
“He just brings that composure, Ireland play a really composed game.
“He’s one of the best out-halves in the world and he’s still going very strong. He’s a quality player.”
– Press Association
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Comments on RugbyPass
Very unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to commentsAll good, Gregor, except that you neglected to mention Sam Darry amongst that talented pool of locks. In fact, given Hannah’s inexperience and the fact that Holland won’t be eligible until next year, Lord and Darry might be the frontrunners this year, to join Barrett, Tuipoluto, Va’ii and possibly Whitelock. In fact there might be room for all of them if Barrett played 6 (like Ollie Chessum).
10 Go to comments