Squad set new goals as reality bites hard

In times past, Irish rugby stood indicted for suffering from delusions of grandeur. Not this week. This week, reality dawns. It's not just the media, pundits or supporters either; reality has bitten into the Irish camp, too.

Some of the statements coming out of the Irish camp from coach Brian Ashton and captain Keith Wood in Limerick yesterday might be considered sacrilegious in some quarters. It might also seem to be flirting with defeatism; but the way they see it, this is the reality.

"This is the best All Blacks side ever," agreed Ashton in admitting that, therefore, it was the biggest challenge he has faced as a coach. "Somebody said last week that I shouldn't be saying things like that, and I said, `Why not? It's bloody true, so why not say it?' Everyone who's got any knowledge of rugby knows it."

Which is why Ashton was so surprised that others were surprised by the All Blacks tour's benchmark 81-3 defeat of Llanelli on Saturday. "Some of the old and wise and outstanding Lions of the past were staggered by what they saw," Ashton said. "Having been in New Zealand, we knew exactly what was going to happen. In fact, had they kicked all their points, it would have been about 110. They didn't do anything I wasn't expecting. What they did do they did exceptionally well."

So it is that, remarkably, the Irish have not even "talked about beating these guys. We've talked about setting personal targets, team objectives and team developments. If we get all these right, that is a winning side."

So what are the chances of getting all those right? "We'll just have to wait until 3.0 on Saturday afternoon. They're in with a chance anyway," was as far as Ashton would go.

The squad spent two hours together yesterday morning in the Castletroy Park Hotel, after assembling the night before, discussing these objectives. But they're not crestfallen before the kick-off. Ashton regards the challenge as "exciting" rather than daunting.

They believe they can hurt the All Blacks, too, a reasonable aspiration. "We're going into it with a very open mind and, hopefully, a very realistic mind as well," said Ashton. He identified a number of specifics, namely: to "stop a lot of their moves at source", "attack in areas where they mightn't be as strong as in other areas" and "take onto the pitch a belief that they can compete on a personal basis with their opposite number."

To further acclimatise the Irish team, an opposition XV of Barry Everett, Jack Clarke, Rhys Ellison, Ciaran Clarke, Andrew Thompson, Ronan O'Gara, Peter Stringer, Angus McKeen, James Blaney, Ian Murray, Mick Galwey, Mark McConnell, Barry Gavin, Anthoney Foley and Junior Charlie wore all-black jerseys for yesterday's practise session with the full Irish team. Asked whether this was on the advice of the team's psychologists, Ashton retorted: "No, it was my idea. I'm the amateur sports psychologist."

Wood was even more pragmatic in his assessment. Burdened with grandiose Irish expectations in the past, Wood is even more keen to apply a kilo or two of salt after the post-Lions euphoria generated by his presence as one of four Irish members of that pack.

Describing the challenge as "both exciting and daunting" Wood said: "Realistically the chances of winning this match are really, really, really slim. I'm not a betting man, but how about one in 20? Now, I think that's realistic."

The Irish captain admits such talk has earned him "a bit of flak", but he maintains, "We have to get to a stage of consistency. If we look at the internationals this season, a very, very good season for us is a win over Canada, a win over Italy, a win over Scotland and a win over Wales. Four wins in a season. I don't think we've ever had that before. That has to be the goal, and that's realistic."

Looking further ahead, Wood would like Ireland to get to a point over the next three to five years where Ireland might actually beat France once in a while.

Looking beyond this game, Wood places the All Blacks on a tier of their own, followed by a second tier of South Africa, Australia, France and maybe England. "We're definitely third tier, so our (next) step is to move from three to two. But that's over three or four or five years to get to that level."

A realist can well appreciate where Wood is coming from. In some ways, it may be a deliberate mechanism to ease the pressure on Ireland, and in others it is a reaction to the excessive expectations of the past.

It's just unusual to hear it from the Irish captain. You might wonder how such thinking could permeate through the team, and especially the new caps. But then again, it is, as they say, reality.