'I’d happily play at midnight if it’s a bit cooler' - Ireland forward feeling the heat
Josh van der Flier would rather play at midnight than endure the scorching temperatures which caused him to ditch his distinctive red scrum cap in Ireland’s Rugby World Cup opener.
The world player of the year bolstered his side from the bench as they launched their campaign with a thumping 82-8 win over Romania on a baking-hot afternoon in Bordeaux.
Ireland’s other three Pool B fixtures – against Tonga, South Africa and Scotland – will each kick-off at 9pm local time, something Van der Flier was initially uneasy about.
But, after enduring heat of 36 degrees Celsius, the flanker has had a change of heart, having felt ready to come back off just 15 minutes into a challenging Saturday afternoon cameo.
“I was thinking before the tournament that 9pm is so late, it’s a really long day,” he said.
“But then when I saw the weather in the captain’s run (on Friday), I said I’d happily play at midnight if it’s a bit cooler.
“In the first half, most of the pitch was in the sun, second half you were in the sun and it almost felt like a break when you got into the other half of the field where it was a bit shaded.
“It will definitely make a big difference (kicking off later).
“A lot of credit has to go to the lads who played 80 minutes out there. After 15 of my 20 minutes, I was nearly ready to get subbed off again. It was tough.”
Van der Flier looked slightly unfamiliar as he emerged without his customary scrum cap to replace Leinster team-mate Caelan Doris.
The 30-year-old also felt compelled to remove the distinguishing head gear, which was initially chosen to match his school’s kit, during Ireland’s pre-tournament training camp in the Algarve.
“I tried wearing it in training in Portugal and I really, really struggled,” he said.
“It’s just an extra bit of heat and it makes a big difference when you take it off.
“I did notice that it just feels different not having a scrum cap on but definitely glad not to have it in this heat.
“Last World Cup, I didn’t wear it for the first game, then I got a cut on my head so I had to start wearing it.
“I had done it before but I would probably be more comfortable wearing it.”
Ireland take on Tonga in Nantes before Paris showdowns with reigning world champions South Africa and Scotland.
Wing James Lowe is braced for tougher tests against some “scary teams” and is not yet contemplating a potential quarter-final clash with his native New Zealand.
He said: “It’s not going to get any easier now, the further we get, is it?
“Tonga are physical, we struggled against Samoa (a 17-13 win) a couple of weeks ago and Tonga are a very similar outfit: physical, combative.
“They’re going to run hard and tackle hard, so we’re going to have to be smart there, and the week after it’s South Africa, so it’s not going to get any easier the longer we last.”
Asked about possibly facing the All Blacks in the last eight, the 31-year-old replied: “There’s a fair few scary teams before we even think about a quarter-final.
“People are labelling our pool as the ‘pool of death’, fair play.”
Comments on RugbyPass
What a joke. Total joke and the pundits commentating, all of whom know a bit about the game, could barely disguise their contempt. Reaching for the card then pulling back when he realised a red card would carry further match suspensions is simply not his decision to make. A clear and obvious influence on the outcome of this match and indeed, the championship path.
2 Go to commentsI like the idea, in NZ the Ranfurly Shield and NPC coexist, both having their own bragging rights. The World Cup would be the pinnacle, but the competition and travels of these trophies would be interesting.
40 Go to commentsDon’t worry Sonny bill Williams leave that awkward situation about the curfew in the pass whoever it was it doesn’t matter its no big deal we back our All Blacks through the storm and the thunder until we see the Sun light again.
41 Go to commentsWho listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
41 Go to commentsI’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
41 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to commentsIt is pretty clear that by almost any measure that NZ are a more successful rugby nation than South Africa. Quite aside from the distasteful events during the last RWC final. NZ lead SA in all significant measurements.
40 Go to commentsDickson went to his pocket for a card, saw who it was, changed his mind and spoke at length to TMO. One angle clearly shows Care diving over a Saints player to kill the ball. 1st yellow, reason given for not Red was player was falling backwards. He was only falling backwards after contact with Lawes. Graham try should have stood. Mitchell did not have both hands on the ball, ball went forward from a Saints boot dragging over it. 2 intentional knock-on's. One of which had an overlap on the outside. If Quins are happy to win by intentional foul play, then it does not say much for them. Would appear to be a bad day for Karl Dickson, also for the RFU in appointing a Ref who spent 8 years as a player at one of the clubs.
2 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to comments