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'There will be stories around what went on in the World Cup' – Simon Easterby
Assistant coach Simon Easterby insists Ireland will not be thinking about the Rugby World Cup final that never was when they launch their Guinness Six Nations title defence.
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The reigning Grand Slam champions were heavily tipped to meet hosts France in the showpiece match of Test rugby’s leading tournament last autumn.
But Andy Farrell’s men, who then topped the world rankings, suffered an agonising 28-24 quarter-final loss to New Zealand on October 14, 24 hours before Les Bleus were beaten 29-28 by eventual winners South Africa.
The two sides will return to action for the first time since those premature exits in next Friday’s championship curtain-raiser in Marseille.
While defence coach Easterby can envisage the narrative around the match, he dismissed its significance.
“It’s probably a game that people thought would have been fitting for a World Cup final – but it wasn’t,” he said.
“We get the second prize of going after each other in the first game.
“I think there will be that story line around what happened in the World Cup, the fact that neither of us got past the quarter-finals.
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“That’s really not a concern of ours. Our concern is trying to figure out a way to beat a very, very good team and that’s all we’ve prepared for across the last five or six days.
“There will be stories around what went on in the World Cup and does that kick on into the Six Nations and inevitably it is a story, but we have to focus on the here and now.
“It’s a great start for us to see where we’re at at the moment.”
Head coach Farrell started the week by saying he was “over” the World Cup.
A review of the last-eight defeat to the All Blacks began on Monday when Ireland’s squad reconvened for the first time since the tournament.
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“We probably didn’t fire enough shots and make the most of the opportunities in that game,” Easterby said of the painful loss in Paris.
“They probably didn’t have to work as hard for their scores as we would have liked.
“We were a hair’s breadth away from scoring at the end. And fine, fine margins.
“The maul was really effective, we destroyed them at times in that area. We got on the wrong side of some refereeing decisions.
“But at the end of the day, it was 28-24, very little in it.”
Ireland are fine tuning preparations for the Six Nations at a pre-tournament camp in southern Portugal.
Easterby revealed the full 34-man squad trained on Friday.
“We have to manage certain players because of recent or long-standing injuries,” he said.
“Guys will be carrying little bumps and niggles, that’s the nature of the game.
“But to a man they’ve come out, trained and put a shift in today. It was certainly a really sharp session and one that will give them a lot of confidence.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The article alludes to the fact that this isn’t about picking a captain. But picking a great captain. So who would make for a great All Black captain - not just an obvious or safe shoo-in? I’m not sure Ardie’s the guy and Barret doesn’t stand out either.
20 Go to commentsI guess we may all agree on the fact, that the ABs and Boks are the two in contest for No 1 in rugby history (the triple-A sort of) …. the Wallabies, England and France are the next tier, with Ireland being the new kid in town (AA) …. in my view it makes little sense creating imaginary competitions (unless you have too much time to waste)
44 Go to commentsWhat 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.
4 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.
44 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.
42 Go to commentsWho listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
42 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.
42 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.
44 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.
4 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
7 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
2 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.
7 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.
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