Joe Schmidt sees need for Ireland to sharpen cutting edge in opener

Now the strategy all along has become clear. Use the warm-up games to ensure as many frontliners were as fit as possible, play 41 players and continually rotate before finalising the 31-man squad but at the same time use those games to finalise Ireland’s front-up team.

Or, to coin a phrase, have all Ireland’s ducks in a row for the opener against Canada.

Ireland’s first team selection at their first press conference in Cardiff for their first World Cup game against the Canucks felt more like the real deal. Eight TV camera crews and close-on 50 journalists in a scrum in a converted restaurant at the Marriot Hotel. And the selection itself looks, sounds, smells and feels like a first-choice XV; indeed a first-choice match 23.

Save for the injured Robbie Henshaw, this would be the team Joe Schmidt would probably have picked had the opponents tomorrow been France.

Wing positions

So it is that Iain Henderson has played his way in ahead of Devin Toner, while Keith Earls and Dave Kearney have claimed the wing positions. Most likely too, Chris Henry has played his way onto the bench ahead of the more versatile Jordi Murphy, who had the misfortune to be pitched against man of the match Justin Tipuric in the defeat to Wales. Hence, Sean O’Brien is effectively covering across the backrow.

Schmidt assuredly had these picks in mind yesterday when admitting his selection is “a little bit different, to be honest”, from the team he might have envisaged picking six weeks ago. “And I think maybe next week and the week after might be a bit different from what we envisaged two weeks ago even. Hopefully that’s because players are fully fit and working really hard, making the decisions difficult and not injury-enforced. At the same time, there was a bit of giddiness yesterday.”

Yet the quality of yesterday’s first session at Sophia Gardens was, according to Schmidt, a sign of the squad’s experience, though the selection was not necessarily sending a message to them that form counted.

“It’s probably not a message to the squad, as much as what we feel was the best combination. If it is reflected in that way amongst the squad, hopefully that’s a signal to the squad that A: everybody’s got a chance of selection, and B: those selected need to make sure that they keep working hard to stay selected.”

Although there was no word of it after training on Tuesday, it transpired that Henshaw pulled up near the end of that morning’s session, with a scan on his strained hamstring revealing “there’s a little bit of blood there but there was no separation”.

Hence, Schmidt was reasonably confident of Henshaw being fit to play Romania on Sunday week in Wembley. “We’d like to think so.”

Yet despite the inclusion of Darren Cave as a specialist centre in the squad, to the exclusion of a third scrum-half, Schmidt has opted to play Fitzgerald at inside centre. “We know Darren can do it already so we weren’t really too panicked about Darren having the time there.”

Although it was necessary “to blood Luke on a reasonably short time-frame,” Schmidt referred to Fitzgerald’s time at inside centre with Leinster four seasons ago, and added: “He is a player that I’ve had playing 12 in the past and have had confidence in.”

First-choice team

Canadian coach Kieran Crowley has also named a first-choice team which, with Tyler Ardron injured, is led by Jamie Cudmore (one of only three players playing in any of Europe’s three top-flight leagues) and features eight World Cup debutants. “I think they’ve picked a robust midfield with (Nick) Blevins and (Ciaran) Hearn,” ventured Schmidt. “They’re the two bigger lads in the midfield and particularly Blevins is a very hard, direct runner, and I’ve no doubt they’ll be looking to get a bit of advantage line and then try to utilise those real dangerous runners, (Matt) Evans, (DTH van der) Merwe and (Jeff) Hasslers on the back of that.”

Although Canada are 37 or 38 point underdogs, needless to say they worry Schmidt, particularly “their ability to turn defence into attack and their ability to defend for long periods and then suddenly attack out of them”.

Hence, he reckoned Ireland will have to work hard for their points, although they need to start converting more opportunities.

The strategy now apparent, the need for Ireland to sharpen their cutting edge against Canada has been heightened further, thus also affording Schmidt and co elbow room to heavily rotate the squad against Romania.