ANDY FARRELL FELT his Ireland team were guilty of overplaying at times in Friday’s 23-13 loss to New Zealand, but the balance will always be hard to strike for a team who pride themselves on their skillset under pressure.
Against a New Zealand team who played the conditions well and kicked their points, Ireland clocked up 21 handling errors as their attacking game struggled to build any momentum, repeatedly losing possession while struggling to get their phase-game going.
“It’s always a tug of war to find the best way to play any game in any moment,” said Ireland centre Garry Ringrose.
“If it’s the right thing to run, you are trying to make it the right thing to run. (It’s) About executing your job, and equally with kicking, it’s about all of us to manage the flow of the game, the momentum. I guess, maybe we didn’t get it wrong, but hindsight can make it a bit clearer as opposed to in the moment, you want to challenge as best you can.
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“It’s a tough one and one you learn from reviewing it. Any game, against any opposition, win or lose, you are always wondering for those little moments, what was the right thing to do as a team? We’ll go back and look at that.”
Ireland were also damaged by their discipline, conceding 13 penalties as Damian McKenzie provided 18 of New Zealand’s 23 points off the tee.
“It’s tough, compounding errors when it is penalties or knock-ons. As a team you never want to compound errors and in situations there we did we did, and against a quality side like New Zealand they make you pay.
“I mean against New Zealand, I said it at the start of the week: you have to be close to your best. I think at international level, to beat any team, you really have to be close to your best. I guess we didn’t get to the level that we would have hoped for.
“Preparation-wise, we try to hold ourselves to a certain standard, which we did. We just didn’t fire like we would have hoped. Whether I can give you specific things right now, I don’t know just yet. But we’ll face it head-on and be honest with ourselves. I know the lads will be on the laptops as soon as they can to try and figure it out.”
Ringrose added that he felt no ill-effects after shipping a heavy hit from Jordie Barrett, which resulted in a yellow card for the New Zealand centre.
Ringrose took a heavy hit from Jordie Barrett. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Ireland will need a response to avoid further disappointment when Argentina come to town on Friday.
The Pumas have been steadily improving under former Leinster assistant coach Felipe Contepomi and have already recorded wins against South Africa, New Zealand and Australia this year.
“I know Felipe personally. From watching Argentina through the Rugby Championship… the Tests just keep rolling on,” Ringrose added.
“If we don’t prepare as best as we can they’ll expose us and punish us.”
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'We didn't get to the level that we would have hoped for'
ANDY FARRELL FELT his Ireland team were guilty of overplaying at times in Friday’s 23-13 loss to New Zealand, but the balance will always be hard to strike for a team who pride themselves on their skillset under pressure.
Against a New Zealand team who played the conditions well and kicked their points, Ireland clocked up 21 handling errors as their attacking game struggled to build any momentum, repeatedly losing possession while struggling to get their phase-game going.
“It’s always a tug of war to find the best way to play any game in any moment,” said Ireland centre Garry Ringrose.
“If it’s the right thing to run, you are trying to make it the right thing to run. (It’s) About executing your job, and equally with kicking, it’s about all of us to manage the flow of the game, the momentum. I guess, maybe we didn’t get it wrong, but hindsight can make it a bit clearer as opposed to in the moment, you want to challenge as best you can.
“It’s a tough one and one you learn from reviewing it. Any game, against any opposition, win or lose, you are always wondering for those little moments, what was the right thing to do as a team? We’ll go back and look at that.”
Ireland were also damaged by their discipline, conceding 13 penalties as Damian McKenzie provided 18 of New Zealand’s 23 points off the tee.
“It’s tough, compounding errors when it is penalties or knock-ons. As a team you never want to compound errors and in situations there we did we did, and against a quality side like New Zealand they make you pay.
“I mean against New Zealand, I said it at the start of the week: you have to be close to your best. I think at international level, to beat any team, you really have to be close to your best. I guess we didn’t get to the level that we would have hoped for.
“Preparation-wise, we try to hold ourselves to a certain standard, which we did. We just didn’t fire like we would have hoped. Whether I can give you specific things right now, I don’t know just yet. But we’ll face it head-on and be honest with ourselves. I know the lads will be on the laptops as soon as they can to try and figure it out.”
Ringrose added that he felt no ill-effects after shipping a heavy hit from Jordie Barrett, which resulted in a yellow card for the New Zealand centre.
Ireland will need a response to avoid further disappointment when Argentina come to town on Friday.
The Pumas have been steadily improving under former Leinster assistant coach Felipe Contepomi and have already recorded wins against South Africa, New Zealand and Australia this year.
“I know Felipe personally. From watching Argentina through the Rugby Championship… the Tests just keep rolling on,” Ringrose added.
“If we don’t prepare as best as we can they’ll expose us and punish us.”
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