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Schmidt braced for 'horrible couple of days' selecting his RWC squad

By Online Editors
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt reacts during the warm-up before Saturday's international match in Cardiff (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Joe Schmidt is gearing up for a “horrible couple of days” thrashing out Ireland’s World Cup squad selection. Ireland edged out Wales 22-17 in Cardiff to hit back from last weekend’s 57-15 humbling in England, with Jacob Stockdale grabbing a try brace.

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Ireland will submit their 31-man World Cup squad to World Rugby on Monday, but will not publicise that final Japanese travelling party until September 8. Will Addison fared well at full-back but Schmidt branded the Ulster utility back “underdone”, suggesting he could miss out amid the head coach’s final selection deliberations, with Andrew Conway having furthered his claims.

Asked how close he is to his final 31-man selection, Schmidt said: “I can tell you now, I’m not sure. We need to see what our balance is. Whatever you do there’s always a risk you don’t quite get it right. I don’t think we got it right last time (in 2015).

“It’s a horrible couple of days. For those players who miss out it’s going to be a real body blow, I’m incredibly conscious of that. But you can only take 31 players and that’s the reality of it.”

Jack Carty surely assured himself Ireland’s third fly-half berth with an accomplished performance at 10 at the Principality Stadium. Schmidt insisted that Johnny Sexton will feature against Wales in Dublin next weekend, and that Joey Carbery will beat his ankle injury in time for Ireland’s World Cup opener against Scotland on September 22.

Munster playmaker Carbery can offer emergency cover at scrum-half, with Conor Murray and Kieran Marmion likely to be Ireland’s two recognised nines in the eventual squad. Tadhg Beirne should fill the fourth lock berth, with his ability to feature at flanker allowing Ireland to select five back-rowers.

Rory Best showed up well off the bench in Cardiff, making 12 tackles in a combative 20-minute cameo – reasserting his credentials as Ireland’s World Cup captain. Addison, Conway, Jordan Larmour and Chris Farrell could now hand Schmidt the biggest deliberations in his backline selections.

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“We’ll go back and have a look at it, certainly we’ll be as forensic as we can in looking back, then discussing it as coaches over the next day and a bit really,” said Schmidt. “We’ll get together Sunday afternoon and evening, then we’ll have more time on Monday morning.

 

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“Will (Addison) did some things really well, he took a cut to the head and then got cramp, so we brought him off to protect him from injury. He has such a balanced running style, he gets a good look at the pitch running back from full-back, and he’s accomplished at kicking and kicking goals as well. So he’s a good back-up from that perspective.

“He’s underdone, he hasn’t had as much rugby as we would have liked, but then versatility is a huge strength for him. He’s covered the full spectrum of the back three and 13 which is an asset when trying to narrow a squad down. So we’ll be looking at him and comparing a few other guys, and seeing who best fits the mould.”

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Schmidt praised Connacht playmaker Carty for his showing in Cardiff, but admitted again selection calls will not be straightforward. “Jack’s done well, but it’s apples, oranges and lemons,” said Schmidt. “You’ve got a number of different 10 options.

“One of them [Sexton] hasn’t played yet, but we all know he’ll play next week and will go. And another [Carbery] played very well for 50 minutes against Italy, and might be on the bench next week but will certainly be back in time for Scotland.”

– Press Association

WATCH: Ireland legend Brian O’Driscoll tips England to win the World Cup in Japan

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Jon 6 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 8 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.

33 Go to comments
A
Adrian 10 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

33 Go to comments
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