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Matt Dawson on the elephant in the room for New Zealand
Ireland have the form, the confidence plus the weight of recent success behind them and are poised to do to New Zealand what the three-time World Cup winners have done to so many other teams in the past. That’s the view of Matt Dawson, a man who knows just what it is like to be part of a team tearing up the established norms of rugby lore.
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“All of a sudden New Zealand are in a position that every other nation in the world has when they play the All Blacks; now they’re feeling what it is like to play against by far the best team in the world, based on results and position and you know if you don’t get it right, you are going to be punished and punished really badly,” said Dawson as he looked ahead to Saturday evening’s mammoth quarter-final in Paris.
“That part for me is going to be fascinating to see how New Zealand respond. They don’t tend to ever have that feeling when they play against South Africa or Australia because they play them so often. But having a whole week, or if not more, understanding they are by far the underdogs in the game is going to bring a very different dimension to New Zealand.”
The men in green have prevailed over the boys in black three times out of four in the past 23 months. In the same period you can add a Six Nations Grand Slam winning performance against England plus victories over South Africa, France, Australia, Wales… and just about everybody else.
That is more than enough to flip the aura from the habitual kings of the southern hemisphere to the strutting upstarts in the north.
“There is absolutely not a shred of any of those players’ bodies that fear playing against the All Blacks, which is how it used to be and what it still is for a lot of sides when they play against the All Blacks. Because they have not only played them a lot but they’ve been successful,” Dawson said.
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The former scrum-half was part of the England side that crucially broke its own hoodoo by winning in New Zealand in 2003 ahead of their World Cup winning exploits, and he understands just what a difference recent results will have made to the two team’s quarter-final build-up.
“Deep down when you know it is a mountain to climb to beat the opposition or beat the All Blacks you spend a lot of your week trying to search for the way to do it and Ireland won’t be having to expend that sort of energy, that mental and physical energy on that, because they know how to do it, they just revisit old conversations and old places in their mind that they know have been very successful,” Dawson explained.
“That is a big leg up compared to the All Blacks who will be thinking, ‘how on earth are we going to break down Ireland’.
“They’ll tell us all that they are only focused on what they are doing but nobody has worked out Ireland. Nobody has worked out how to really put a spanner in the works for Ireland to (have to) work out what to do during a game. That takes a huge amount of time and energy that you really don’t have during a quarter-final week.”
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In contrast, Ireland won’t have been “flogging” their players but will simply have been “resting up, (doing) little walkthroughs, small, short sharp gym sessions and lots of recovery”.
The fact the Irish have been to seven Rugby World Cup quarter-finals to date and never further, does not concern Dawson in the slightest.
“I would be flabbergasted if that is holding them back in any way,” the Englishman said, before adding simply, “Ireland have proven to be superb over the last year or so particularly being able to negate those reasons for doubt, which I think stands them above anybody else at the moment.”
Once New Zealand are out of the way, Dawson predicts an Ireland versus France final – a game he would “certainly like to be at”. You heard it here first.
Comments on RugbyPass
Huge engine this guy and great to see him back ..The amount of clean outs he does at the ruck are ridiculous !!
3 Go to commentsThe level of desperation in this article is just embarrassing.
215 Go to commentsSome silly trolling in the comments.
8 Go to commentsEverywhere you turn some irish journo is advocating Ireland as the greatest, reasoning that the wc is a 4 year cycle event so, they say wc doesn’t matter it’s the rugby in between that should account for the accolade. If there was no wc then some substance could be gained, however in my opinion the moment that defined Ireland’s fate against the abs was 37 phases of repeated head bashing against a brick wall. If a change in strategy or a tinker with the game plan was executed then things could've been vastly different. And to point a finger the let down was in the hands of the number 10.
36 Go to commentsI have heard it asked if RA is essentially one of the part owners and I suppose therefor should be on the other side of these two parties. If they purchased the rebels and guaranteed them, and are responsible enough they incur Rebels penalties, where is this line drawn? Seems rough to have to pay a penalty for something were your involvement sees you on the side of the conned party, the creditors. If the Rebels directors themselves have given the club their money, 6mil worth right, why aren’t they also listed as sitting with RA and the Tax office? And the legal threat was either way, new Rebels or defunct, I can’t see how RA assume the threat was less likely enough to warrant comment about it in this article. Surely RA ignore that and only worry about whether they can defend it or not, which they have reported as being comfortable with. So in effect wouldn’t it be more accurate to say there is no further legal threat (or worry) in denying the deal. Unless the directors have reneged on that. > Returns of a Japanese team or even Argentinean side, the Jaguares, were said to be on the cards, as were the ideas of standing up brand new teams in Hawaii or even Los Angeles – crazy ideas that seemingly forgot the time zone issues often cited as a turn-off for viewers when the competition contained teams from South Africa. Those timezones are great for SR and are what will probably be needed to unlock its future (cant see it remaining without _atleast _help from Aus), day games here are night games on the West Coast of america, were potential viewers triple, win win. With one of the best and easiest ways to unlock that being to play games or a host a team there. Less good the further across Aus you get though. Jaguares wouldn’t be the same Jaguares, but I still would think it’s better having them than keeping the Rebels. The other options aren’t really realistic 25’ options, no. From reading this authors last article I think if the new board can get the investment they seem to be confident in, you keeping them simply for the amount of money they’ll be investing in the game. Then ditch them later if they’re not good enough without such a high budget. Use them to get Jaguares reintergration stronger, with more key players on board, and have success drive success.
15 Go to commentsYeah, and ours is waaay bigger than yours. Just as you's get a semi…oh hold on that never happens
36 Go to commentsLove watching
1 Go to commentsThe Melbourne Rebels lineout is a complete disaster so not surprisingly a kiwi coach of the Wallabies hires the worst lineout coach in the country and a foreigner to boot. No surprises whatsoever here…….
3 Go to commentsThank your for wasting 2 minutes of my life Daniel. There is a useful message in there somewhere but your delivery sucks.
7 Go to commentsBen Smith, you are cry baby
215 Go to commentsSux that homophobia is still a thing though. I wonder how many players who could have become legends never kept playing rugby because they felt unwelcome.
7 Go to commentsCrazy he’s only 28, feel like he’s been around forever - don’t mind the move, safe pair of hands and creates depth in a thin position for ABs. Hopefully aides Kemara’s growth also without thrusting too much responsibility on him
1 Go to commentsMen should show strength and be mean, but they should be able to show emotion to those close yo them in certain times, birth of your child, death of family, proud moment. This article is stupid
7 Go to commentsWhat a weak article…absolute drivel and clickbait, well done. Will stick to rugby365 thanks
7 Go to commentsHonest, discipline, humility… Priceless.
2 Go to commentsSo many excuses. No mention of the SA number 2 being taken out illegally in the 2nd minute. That act of foul play had a massive impact on the SA game. Face it, NZ play pretty dirty very regularly, and it’s only since 2016 they’ve been held to higher officiating standards via stricter officiating and TMO reviews. They deserved to have a man down. Sorry. Fix the yellow and red cards and NZ will win more RWCs. Plus, there WAS a knock on invalidating the one try, so it was NOT a try. Period. Here’s a Kleenex…
215 Go to commentsOverheard conversation between NZ and SA rugby fans everywhere: We’re the greatest! No! we’re the greatest! We’re the greatest! No we’re the greatest! Ireland are arrogant! True but they beat you! We’re the greatest! No! we’re the greatest! Etc. etc, etc.
36 Go to commentsTypical crap Aussie weather
11 Go to comments“If they’d have beaten England, I still feel we would have been talking ‘is this the best team ever,’ ‘is this the best team that’s ever played in the Six Nations'” he said. “I still think they’re not quite that good. I actually don’t think they’re that good.” So Trimble is saying he doesn’t think this is the best 6N team of all time. He is silent on if it is the best Irish team of all time. Can’t disagree with him. Just another misrepresentative clickbait headline from the guys at RP.
36 Go to commentsWow, do we really still have to listen to all the excuses and “unfairness” of it all. Even blaming the bounce of an egg shaped ball for the loss. But the article is about context, so what about the Springboks having to play the other 5 teams in the top 6 and still beating a comparatively rested AB team on a very empty tank.
215 Go to comments