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Ireland must turn screw in Scottish heads to avoid post-Six Nations repercussions

By Liam Heagney
Ireland celebrate during their win over Scotland

There may be a gap of 225 days in between Ireland’s two 2019 fixtures against Scotland, but next Saturday’s Six Nations outcome in Edinburgh will likely have a major influence on what happens when the teams reconvene on September 22, some 5,750 miles away in Yokohama at the World Cup. 

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Win at Murrayfield and Ireland will have an unshakeable belief that the Scots are but a minor road bump on the way to potential glory in Japan. 

Lose, though, and all bets made since the 2017 pool draw in Kyoto – that Ireland’s progress to the last eight will be a stroll – are suddenly off.

Breeding Scottish confidence is the last thing Ireland will want to do with the Far East in mind, so it’s important to keep turning the psychological screw on their Celtic cousin and leave them fearing what Joe Schmidt’s team are capable of. 

It was this type of fear that was decisive in Ireland’s 2015 finals pool. Schmidt’s charges comprehensively dismissed France in Cardiff despite the huge in-game catalogue of injury that cost them a leadership trio of Johnny Sexton, Paul O’Connell and Peter O’Mahony. 

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It was December 2012 when the draw took place for those finals in London and for years in the run-up to that long-signalled pivotal group fixture, a concerted effort was made by Ireland not to give the French an inch. 

There was an Irish draw in Dublin in 2013, an excellent result given how that was their worst Six Nations campaign on record and signalled the end of the Declan Kidney era. 

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Then came the mind-steeling victories, Ireland winning in Paris in 2014 to clinch the championship and then repeating that success in the 2015 renewal back in Dublin.

Scotland wing Blair Kinghorn dives over for a try against Italy. Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images

The pattern of Test results screwed a nail deep in Gallic heads and the consequence was that by the time the pool decider took place, French confidence was at an extremely low ebb and Ireland duly profited.

Now the focus is to screw a similar nail in Scottish heads in time for the 2019 finals by landing the psychological blow of putting Gregor Townsend’s side in the Six Nations ha’penny place.

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When Ireland last travelled to Edinburgh, there was still months to go before the two countries learned they would be World Cup pool enemies.

What transpired that February 2017 day was a shock ambush that Joe Schmidt will be going all out in preparations this week to ensure it isn’t repeated, especially with Ireland having lost their opening match to England. 

Rory Best of Ireland and Stuart McInally of Scotland during the Six Nations Championship match between Ireland and Scotland at Aviva Stadium. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Little was expected from the Scots two years ago as Ireland had long dominated the Test fixture and even clinched the 2015 title in Edinburgh with a runaway hammering. 

However, unsettled by their bus arriving late at the stadium, which impacted on their allotted warm-up time, Ireland were caught cold by an early three-try Scottish blitz and they ran out of gas in the closing minutes after over-working to claw themselves back into the contest.  

“If the police decide to take us a different route you must abide by that,” explained Ireland manager Paul Dean. “That was the reason why that happened. There are circumstances outside your control that you can’t deal with.”

What Ireland do control is what happens on the pitch and their players have been busy re-establishing their perceived superiority over the Scots. 

The provinces have won 17 of the 29 Irish-Scottish club encounters since then, but it was Leinster who took the giant step in retaking the ground surprisingly ceded at Murrayfield 24 months ago. 

With so many international players in their respective ranks, Leinster versus Glasgow is the de facto club version of an Ireland-Scotland Test match and the Irish province were merciless in twice defeating the Warriors in the Champions Cup last season before Ireland got their chance of retribution in March last year.   

Townsend’s side arrived in Dublin giddy on the back of a victory over England, but Ireland clinically got back to winning ways in the head-to-head, their crushing 28-8 mauling clinching them the Six Nations title with a game to spare. 

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The Scottish coach, though, remains a canny foe to Schmidt to be wary of. When Townsend took over at Glasgow, rather than forever fear they couldn’t compete with the provinces, he set about mirroring how the Irish went about their business on and off the field and the grand reward was their 2015 PRO12 final destruction of Munster in Belfast.

Now his ambition is to build concrete belief that his country is no longer second rate in the Six Nations. That outcome would be a disaster if it happened. On paper, the draw for the 2019 finals has presented Ireland with an appetising route towards reaching the final, never mind appear in a first ever semi-final.

It’s why getting players such as James Ryan, Jason Stockdale and others into a pre-World Cup habit of beating up Scotland would be invaluable in before they meet-up again in Japan. 

This was what happened last time round. The likes of Rob Kearney, Jamie Heaslip and Sean O’Brien became so used to beating France and its club teams that they never flinched when it came to the task of dismissing Les Bleus at England 2015. They made it look easy.

That same psychological pre-finals edge is now being sought with the Scots in Ireland’s crosshairs.  

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Jon 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 7 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

30 Go to comments
T
Trevor 12 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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