“I DID LAUGH last time, before the match,” says Joe Schmidt.
He certainly didn’t derive much post-match humour from the infamous delayed bus trip for the 27-22 loss to Scotland which kicked off the 2017 Six Nations.
“We arrived at the stadium 10 or 15 minutes late and we were late for most things in the first half,” said the head coach after his side paid the price for slipping to a 21-8 deficit on their last visit to Murrayfield.
Two years later, the specifics still appear irksome. Even if the Kiwi recounted the tale and a conversation with his former Clermont colleague Vern Cotter with a smile after naming his team go in search of a win.
“I remember saying to (then Scotland coach) Vern Cotter: ‘did you organise that?’
Did you organise that, (arrival) 46 minutes before kick-off?’ He said: ’46? I told them 30 minutes’. So I didn’t get a lot of change from him.”
Joke delivered, it was back to brass tacks and rugby’s great logistical mystery of 2017.
“It’s an incredibly simple route from The Balmoral to Murrayfield. How the policemen got lost will forever be a bit of a mystery for us.”
Of course, the incident only remains in anybody’s memory because it preceded an Ireland loss. A delayed arrival does not automatically mean a slow start. Ireland were well able to overcome the hurdle of a 13-minute trip becoming a 30-minute journey due to Sydney traffic before the third Test win over the Wallabies last summer.
“I can’t remember,” Tadhg Furlong said this week when asked if he and the squad had been aware they were running late for the Six Nations opener in 2017.
“You probably tend to be in your own little zone on the bus. I actually don’t know.
“We were in the dressing room and we were pretty much in and out. We were out to warm up…
“It’s no excuse either, you have to expect the unexpected. What can you do? You have to get on with it. It’s hard to say if it affected us or not. But we definitely started slowly.”
Following a tough Six Nations opening defeat to England, Joe Schmidt will look to regroup against a dangerous Scotland side. This week, Murray Kinsella and Gavan Casey are joined by Bernard Jackman to assess the damage of last weekend and look ahead to the clash in Murrayfield:
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He should be rediscovering his form & fitness with Munster not with the national team. Shouldn’t be a separate rule for him no matter how good he is at his best. Just lowers squad standards….
@ℝ: Who should be in the squad ahead of him, do you think? Marmion is barely back from injury and McGrath is still out for a few more weeks.
@Conor Matthews: Cooney and Blade, the two form Irish scrumhalves by a country mile… and especially for the Italy game. The pace the pair play is perfect for an ireland game to run Italy ragged, and test their fringe defences as unlike Murray both delight at sniping runs at defences. Cooney may be light on Caps but he has loads of experience having played for three provinces and excelled at all…
Yep, no sympathy for Murray or Sexton, thats 2 games they havent performed. Get in the queue and earn your places again boys. And this is why Joe should be rotating the squad more often. Like it was mentioned above, get your game time at the provinces…..and then bring that game to the national team, if youre good enough. Class is permanent, Joe says, yeah but who puts BOD (no disrespect meant) in at 13 these days. Form…form…form
@Trev: sexton was poor v England but he was running the game v Scotland until he got injured. We’d have won by 30 if he’d have stayed on.
@Chris Mc: complete tosh. Apart from the assist to stockdale sexton was bang average. Kicking out of hand was poor and his kick from the tee was embarrassing. He wasn’t as poor as Murray but don’t kid yourself if you think he’s in any better form. Last decent shift sexton put in was against NZ for club and country.
@Chris Mc: yes he got injured, is that your or my fault? No. As the saying goes……youre only as good as your last game. He’s had 2 now, & so has Murray. There is plenty of class waiting in the wings (but thats another discussion)…
Just re-read the headline, that is just pish! Either he can play at the highest level or…he cant. Simple until he gets back up there. But do not waste international minutes on him on the off-chance that he is going to take another 10 or so games to rediscover his form. Same with Sexton….Joe its time to start cracking the whip!!!
@Trev: I think Joe Schmidt will start Sexton and Murray.I also think he should
I’d really like to see the other players get a chance to prove their worth under pressure. What is going to happen in the RWC if a key member gets injured? The tournament is beyond Ireland realistically, so give Carbery etc starting roles. We don’t want a repeat of player burnout before the finals stages
Murray’s been way off it the last number of games ever since Exeter visited Limerick. Hope he rediscovers but can’t be at the expense of Ireland.