'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.
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.
“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.
“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.”
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Sam Cane is a superstar, someone New Zealand should be proud of. How unfair to always compare him to Richie, like saying Mother Theresa is ok, but she's no Jesus. Let's not forget, Sam started in 2012 around the time Richie was probably starting to think, this will be my last world cup cycle if you think he didn't have a big say in who the backup 7 would be and who was best to take over from him after 2015 then you don't understand how clever and forward thinking the man was. Sam Cane was Richie's choice, as apprentice and replacement. Not many people can say they are a better judg Anyone who understands rugby knows the loosies are a trio picked to complement each other, not 3 guys who score trys and make line breaks. No doubt Sam would love to be doing what Ardie does, that's not what was required of him. He had to hit rucks hard , force turnovers and tackle like an animal On defence, that's what he did.
Go to commentsThis article overlooks how the 9 position has developed to be a playmaker, which these 2 are both excellent at. Defences are so good now there is not the luxury of going 9 -> 10 on every play. Playing “off 9” as they say, has become very commonplace these days, but 10+ years ago you hardly saw this. Boiling the great modern 9s down to box kicking doesn’t do justice to how good the great ones have become. Dupont would be the first choice 10 in most teams in the world, JGP pops up in places you would never expect a 9 to be.
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