IT’S JUST OVER twelve months since Rory Best was installed as Ireland captain and there’s a stark contrast in the mood now compared with the backdrop in early 2016.
Then Ireland were coming off the back of a World Cup that ended in disappointment and the provinces had all bombed out of contention in the Champions Cup.
Now the outlook is considerably brighter. There’s been a wave of European club success along with seismic international wins – last summer in Cape Town against South Africa, the landmark November day in Chicago against New Zealand and a victory over Australia in Dublin to round off the year.
“I think there’s an element of confidence now in the squad,” admits Best.
“That’s come off the back of a good tour in South Africa, getting that result. I think we were disappointed not to win one more of the other two, and then a few good performances in November.
“You park November and you try as a player to take that form into your clubs and I think we’ve seen that with three of the provinces, two of them qualifying with home quarter-finals which is fairly hard to do.
“The guys have come in from the three provinces and they’re on top of the ground because they’ve been performing well and for the Ulster boys who’ve come in, it’s a fresh competition for us.”
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With that level of recent success, there has been an accompanying surge in expectations.
There’s a heightened sense of anticipation for this Six Nations with Ireland’s battle against England penciled in for the final on St Patrick’s Day weekend.
Rory Best was at yesterday's Six Nations launch in London. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
“People in Ireland, they just love to get behind the provinces, but more importantly the national team,” stated Best.
“So when you produce a result like that, people just love to see you doing well and love to see you keep going.
“Straight away there’s a little bit more expectation on you but I think the big thing for us, and it’s been the same certainly since Joe has been there and also before, is that the biggest expectation probably comes from ourselves.
“We get set up, we get everything we need from the coaches. But there comes a point when the competitive players really stand above and that’s the sort of position we’ve been in for the last number of years.
“It was a historic win against New Zealand to get that first one. It will be something we look back on when we retire or at the end of the season and you look back fondly.
“While we can use that to improve and go forward, if we think that because we beat New Zealand in Chicago that gives us a right to win at Murrayfield…I think we’ve gone well beyond that as an Irish squad.
“The way it is at the minute with the way Scotland are going, and the way Glasgow and Edinburgh are going in Europe, it’s going to take a performance equal or better to anything we produced in November.”
Rory Best in action for Ireland against Scotland in last year's Six Nations. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Best is attempting to douse the hype surrounding the Irish team and he has a similar approach to any suggestions that 2017 could deliver the personal prize of a Lions captaincy.
“Look, I think it’s something you’ve got to put out of your mind. When you’ve been around long enough, you realise that as soon as you start to look beyond the next event or the next game or even the next training session then you lose focus.
“And a small lack of focus somewhere can be that difference between a fine performance and a result.
“I think as players if we allow ourselves to be distracted by things that are maybe going to happen in April or in June, you lose focus and you lose form. We’ll see what happens after that.”
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Confidence after a golden 2016, Six Nations title chances and the Lions captaincy
IT’S JUST OVER twelve months since Rory Best was installed as Ireland captain and there’s a stark contrast in the mood now compared with the backdrop in early 2016.
Then Ireland were coming off the back of a World Cup that ended in disappointment and the provinces had all bombed out of contention in the Champions Cup.
Now the outlook is considerably brighter. There’s been a wave of European club success along with seismic international wins – last summer in Cape Town against South Africa, the landmark November day in Chicago against New Zealand and a victory over Australia in Dublin to round off the year.
“I think there’s an element of confidence now in the squad,” admits Best.
“That’s come off the back of a good tour in South Africa, getting that result. I think we were disappointed not to win one more of the other two, and then a few good performances in November.
“You park November and you try as a player to take that form into your clubs and I think we’ve seen that with three of the provinces, two of them qualifying with home quarter-finals which is fairly hard to do.
“The guys have come in from the three provinces and they’re on top of the ground because they’ve been performing well and for the Ulster boys who’ve come in, it’s a fresh competition for us.”
With that level of recent success, there has been an accompanying surge in expectations.
There’s a heightened sense of anticipation for this Six Nations with Ireland’s battle against England penciled in for the final on St Patrick’s Day weekend.
“People in Ireland, they just love to get behind the provinces, but more importantly the national team,” stated Best.
“So when you produce a result like that, people just love to see you doing well and love to see you keep going.
“Straight away there’s a little bit more expectation on you but I think the big thing for us, and it’s been the same certainly since Joe has been there and also before, is that the biggest expectation probably comes from ourselves.
“We get set up, we get everything we need from the coaches. But there comes a point when the competitive players really stand above and that’s the sort of position we’ve been in for the last number of years.
“It was a historic win against New Zealand to get that first one. It will be something we look back on when we retire or at the end of the season and you look back fondly.
“While we can use that to improve and go forward, if we think that because we beat New Zealand in Chicago that gives us a right to win at Murrayfield…I think we’ve gone well beyond that as an Irish squad.
“The way it is at the minute with the way Scotland are going, and the way Glasgow and Edinburgh are going in Europe, it’s going to take a performance equal or better to anything we produced in November.”
Best is attempting to douse the hype surrounding the Irish team and he has a similar approach to any suggestions that 2017 could deliver the personal prize of a Lions captaincy.
“Look, I think it’s something you’ve got to put out of your mind. When you’ve been around long enough, you realise that as soon as you start to look beyond the next event or the next game or even the next training session then you lose focus.
“And a small lack of focus somewhere can be that difference between a fine performance and a result.
“I think as players if we allow ourselves to be distracted by things that are maybe going to happen in April or in June, you lose focus and you lose form. We’ll see what happens after that.”
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