Irish expect hard work to be rewarded

Looking remarkably fresh, the Ireland squad trooped into the Claridge Hotel in Buenos Aires at 8.0 a.m. local time yesterday having negotiated a 13-hour flight from London. A quick breakfast and it was time to begin preparations for the eight-team invitational under-21 championship.

Weights and pool work followed by a two-hour training stint in the afternoon preoccupied the players and management as they bid to acclimatise quickly to the new surroundings. There weren't too many complaints regarding the grey skies and sodden surface of the training grounds, not unlike conditions of an Irish winter.

Coach Brian McLaughlin articulated Irish expectations in a tournament comprising the world's elite in this age group. "We are here to win. That was made clear to the players at a meeting before we left. We won't be looking for any excuses. Sure, age restrictions and late defections have hit us but there is great strength in depth in Irish rugby at this level.

"The squad boasts outstanding talent and I have no worries that we are capable of competing with the best. Most of the players have been involved with the foundation and academy systems and have received the best care and preparation. Our objective will be to win all our matches."

Ireland find themselves pitted against France (Saturday), Argentina (Tuesday) and New Zealand (Friday) at the pool stages.

McLaughlin is happy with the information available to him with regard to their opponents. "We played France in the six-nations earlier in the year - Ireland won that game at Musgrave Park - and know what to expect.

"Many of the squad played against Argentina in the Under-19 World Cup three seasons ago out here when they were beaten in the semi-final. Conditions for that tournament were completely different with some of the matches being played in 90 plus degrees. The guys literally melted. This time it should be a fairer contest.

"New Zealand is always strong at any level. They play the same way from the top down. You have got to disrupt their source possession, slow down the quality of ball and prevent them from constructing patterns. A failure to do so will mean chasing shadows for the match. We are aware that we can not afford to mess up in any of the matches.

"We had two very good sessions on Monday, another on Tuesday and yesterday we worked even harder, especially on defence. The demands on the players are great but then so are the possible rewards. They are working hard and are prepared to absorb the advice given. After that it is simply implementing the game plan."

So what way will Ireland look to play? McLaughlin conceded: "I think it will vary depending on the weather and the opposition. Our gameplan is not going to change too much from that which we used in the Six Nations. If possible we would look to get on top up front. We certainly have a lineout that can compete against the best in the world.

"We have plenty of ability behind the scrum and hopefully given a platform we will be able to exploit this. But we are here to win and if we have to play a tighter game to do that, then so be it."

The Irish coach would dearly love to be able to call upon some of the players absent through age restrictions or injury but, as he pointed out, most have been involved in an extended squad at some stage. "It is only now that you see the real value of going to Toulouse last October when we took two full teams to France.

"If you take scrum-half - Peter Stringer and Ciaran Scally did not travel to Argentina - both Kieron Campbell and Simon Keogh made that trip so they have the experience of working with players with whom they will be around here.

"The players are aware that it is up to them to prove their worth. They know that they could have been coming here unbeaten but messed up in a potato patch in Wales. Equally they are aware that they are good enough and that is the most important factor."

Ireland went through a strenuous training session yesterday afternoon where the priority lay on set-piece work and especially defence. The hard work has begun in earnest.