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'It's going to be hot... we play enough rugby in the wind and rain that it's probably not right to moan about the sunshine'
Ireland skipper Rory Best believes Ross Byrne has the perfect chance to enhance his World Cup selection credentials should he conjure a composed and confident showing against a potent England side this Saturday.
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Ireland have rolled out the majority of their big guns to take on Eddie Jones’ England in London. Johnny Sexton and Robbie Henshaw will sit it out, but head coach Joe Schmidt insisted both men could have featured had they been required.
The situation has allowed Byrne to make his full Test debut at fly-half in the absence of both Sexton and Joey Carbery, whose World Cup remains in doubt due to ankle ligament trouble. “When you come to Twickenham you realise the magnitude of the stadium,” said Best ahead of a match likely take place in balmy conditions of 28°C.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play here several times. It’s a fantastic place to play rugby, it’s a great place to play rugby – but it’s also a great place to show what you’re made of, and to show your value to this team. And that’s Ross’ opportunity.
“The thing for the rest of us now is to make sure that we step up to make it easier for him to step up. We’re in a good place… it’s going to be hot for both teams, but they could be similar to the temperatures at the World Cup, so it’s good practice.
‘It’s a a fantastic and intimidating place to play rugby but it’s a great place to show what your made of as a player." – @RoryBest2 on Twickenham#ENGvIRE #ShoulderToShoulder pic.twitter.com/amBsv9VL9g
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) August 23, 2019
“Both teams will be facing the same conditions; we play enough rugby in the wind and the rain that it’s probably not right to moan about the sunshine!”
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Meanwhile, coach Schmidt has handed Ireland new boy Jean Kleyn a World Cup selection crib sheet. South Africa-born Munster lock Kleyn made his Ireland debut just two days after qualifying on residency, when boss Schmidt’s men saw off Italy 29-10 in Dublin on August 10.
The 25-year-old could find himself in a straight fight with Munster team-mate Tadhg Beirne for the final lock berth in Ireland’s 31-man World Cup squad. Kleyn has retained his place to face England but has also been challenged to raise his level again, with the versatile Beirne taking a seat on the bench.
“We gave him some things to work on from last time and we want to see if those can materialise on Saturday,” said Schmidt, of Kleyn. “Because he’s so new in, we felt that it was a priority to give him the time. Again, it is a fickle balance at the moment.
“Devin Toner knows our game inside out so needed less of the time, while Iain Henderson has just trained so well this week we’re looking forward to seeing him out there.”
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Lineout titan Toner and his Leinster colleague James Ryan remain Ireland’s premier lock pairing, with Ulster and British and Irish Lions star Henderson a combative and dependable option off the bench.
With Ireland's matches about to start prior to the Rugby World Cup, Garry Ringrose sets the scene and reflects on his journey from 2015 to now https://t.co/oorB7Z3HmJ
— liam heagney (@heagneyl) August 5, 2019
Munster’s former Scarlets man Beirne and Henderson are both high-level back-row operators too, and that adaptability carries paramount importance amid the tight squeeze of a 31-man squad. Schmidt remains intent on handing all his back-five scrum options chances to shine across these World Cup warm-up clashes.
“It also gives Tadhg Beirne the opportunity to be that cover-all back-row, second row,” said Schmidt. “I’m not saying he’s not good enough to start in either of those positions but he’s nice security, having him covering all five of those back-five positions, albeit at seven we’d probably need to mix and match somebody but he can cover six, eight or five.”
– Press Association
WATCH: Maro Itoje sets the scene for RugbyPass ahead of England’s World Cup warm-up against Ireland
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments