By warming up so unimpressively and by selecting their strongest available side, Ireland have raised the stakes for themselves when beginning their World Cup campaign against Namibia in Bordeaux tomorrow. Having made a statement of their intentions, they now need to make one on the pitch.
Of course, the result will ultimately be one of those footnotes in World Cup history. Ireland, no less than their main pool rivals, France and Argentina, should secure a win and a bonus point without undue bother. But the need to win emphatically is important for other reasons. Conceivably, the three heavyweights could each beat a fellow heavyweight, and depending on how bonus points pan out, end up level on 15 points. In that scenario, the pecking order would be decided by points difference.
Perhaps even more pertinently, an efficient all-round effort and a handsome win would encourage EddieO'Sullivan to utilise his squad more than four years ago, when eight players started all five games, culminating in the 43-21 quarter-final defeat to France, and another three played four in a row. Were Ireland to continue where they left off against Italy and limp to victory, the coach might be of a mind to give most another run-out to fine-tune their fitness against Georgia next Saturday. As that comes just six days before the crunch game against France, such a strategy would come with obvious risks.
O'Sullivan will be looking for hard, direct ball-carrying off quick ball. Ireland have been obliged to identify and work on the breakdown after the sometimes painfully slow ball that undermined them against Italy. "At the start of the tournament everybody will be a little bit ringrusty . . . so I think the priority will be to be very direct and verysimple and keep the game without its complications until you get into a rhythm and develop a platform to play off," said the coach.
It should not be beyond them, all the more so with David Wallace back in harness. As befits a team with three Triple Crowns in four years Ireland are ranked fifth in the world; Namibia are 24th. The average age of this starting Irish team is 28; Namibia's is 26. The Irish average over 49 caps; Namibia average scarcely seven Four years ago Ireland beat Namibia 64-7 before the hosts and eventual finalists, Australia, ran up a record Cup win of 142-0. As part of their preparations this time Namibia were beaten 105-13 by the Springboks in a rare outing against elite opposition.
Seven of their starting line-up are based in South Africa, but only five play with Currie Cup teams: centre Piet van Zyl, their well-travelled captain and prop Kees Lensing, tighthead Janne du Toit, flanker Jacques Nieuwenhuis and number eight Jacques Burger (outhalf Emile Wessels plays in Australian club rugby, and lock-turned-flanker Heino Senekal is with Cornish Pirates in the English first division). Clearly therefore, their strengths ought to reside in scrum and back row, areas O'Sullivan has pinpointed in an understandable effort to talk up the opposition.
"I think it will be a very fired-up Namibia side," he said. "Most of them play their rugby in the Currie Cup so they're quite a physical outfit and they're particularly strong in the back row, so the contest for the football at the breakdown will be very intense. "Their setpiece is quite solid and they're a big side, so I think it will be quite a bruising encounter to start with."
O'Sullivan's counterpart, Hakkies Husselman, admits the Namibians have had to travel three hours a day for their two sessions in Marseille but they maintain their preparations and fitness are significantly better than four years ago.
Husselman, their scrumhalf four years ago, admits that their backs are mostly young and "for the future", that they will try to play a very limited game and concentration has been on defence.
"Because we are a tier-three nation we won't get as much ball possession against the big sides. Versus the Springboks it was split 30-70 per cent and of that we kicked 10 per cent away. We need to get organised and have a good system in place and hopefully get some turnover ball."
The hope remains that Ireland, as shown in 1991, 1995 and 1999, don't do warm-ups well, that the more rarefied air of France and the competition proper will galvanise them.
The attempt to prove that starts now.
The Irish are 'undercooked' - coach
Assistant coach, Niall Donovan, yesterday acknowledged the Irish team is "undercooked" coming into the World Cup and that in the area of physicality the team is not at the same level as it was at the last World Cup.
Speaking at the team hotel, O'Donovan was pressed on the issue of whether Ireland undercooked coming to France. "We are," said the coach. "But if you look back four years ago, we didn't play that much rugby beforehand. We'd all September to play around with but we'd only two warm-up games.
"I think in the physicality stakes they're (Ireland) a bit behind were they were four years ago. We've addressed that over the last two weeks and hopefully we'll see it on Sunday."
Johnny Watterson
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