Ciarán Kennedy Reports from Lyon

IRELAND’S HUGELY IMPRESSIVE defeat of South Africa has been the talk of France over the last couple of days, so much so that it dominated much of New Zealand’s press conference ahead of their pool clash with Italy later in the week.

The expected outcome of Ireland’s statement win is that it will set up a World Cup quarter-final clash with the All Blacks, who are favourites to finish second in Pool A as a result of their opening night defeat to France.

With that in mind, the Irish rugby team were big news as New Zealand spent a morning with the press in Lyon this week. Speaking beside Lyon Rugby’s wonderful, old-school Stade de Gerland, New Zealand defence coach Scott McLeod offered his views on last weekend’s World Cup classic. 

“I was hugely impressed with the intensity of the game,” McLeod said.

New Zealand assistant coach Scott McLeod. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

“The set piece pressure was huge from both sides but the defence and the movement and the collisions for as long as it was, was immense. A lot of us were really impressed with watching that game. It’s definitely the standard.”

The idea of the game “setting a standard” is an interesting point, as later in the same press conference, members of the New Zealand squad spoke of being inspired to reach the same heights with their performance. Even after Ireland’s series win in New Zealand last year, it’s slightly surreal to listen to men in All Blacks training gear talk about Ireland as standard-setters.

“It definitely gets the boys buzzing,” McLeod continued. 

“They can see it and they can feel it in the speed. It is not something that we have talked about as a group at all but the players have talked about it amongst themselves and there is a buzz, that excites them.

That’s the level that they want to play at, so it excites us.”

The quality of the tackling by both sides was what left the strongest impression on McLeod.

“That’s what impressed me the most was the speed of play but the collisions were clean. They were very clean and accurate and there was no infringing around that area. It is a bloody hard thing to do at that speed and with those collisions where those bodies are flying everywhere; both teams did that very well, it was very impressive.”

The conversation moved on the breakdown, an area where the Springboks themselves appeared surprised by Ireland’s accuracy and workrate.

“I don’t want to make too much of a point of it because as a defence coach we like to be able to turn that ball over. The refs are definitely seeing that picture very clearly and they are rewarding the people that win. Even if we are not on the ball we still want to test the skill set of the cleaners or the people looking after that ball. I feel that the referees have got a really good handle on that, biasedly!”

So, what if New Zealand were to face Ireland in the quarter-finals?

“I have rats and possums on my property and that’s a trap right there,” McLeod replied. 

“I know what a trap looks like, I know what a trap smells like and that to me is a trap right there. The pure thing being that we deal with what is in front of us. Italy are a very good side and if we looking too far ahead and start thinking about others, we will come undone and we can’t.”

We’ll have to wait and see. Of course, Ireland weren’t the only talking point in Lyon, with the New Zealand media day taking place the morning after Australia’s harrowing loss to Wales in the same city.

The manner of the defeat has only increased the concerns around the state of the game in Australia. When asked about their southern hemisphere neighbours, McLeod explained why New Zealand need Australia to remain strong and competitive.

“We are in the same competition (Rugby Championship) as them and we need their level to be very high. We want to push each other so that we can push each other for Test matches during the year. We definitely need the standards high.

“It (the defeat to Wales) is a reminder that it is real for them, our close neighbours. I am feeling for them. We take that into every game. We have seen the close games and teams being pushed to their limits.”