THE BUILD-UP to this November test series has seen Ireland’s new coaching staff forced to squeeze a lot of new ideas into a condensed time period.

However, forwards coach John Plumtree is confident that Ireland are in a good place ahead of the game against Samoa on Saturday, with key players looking ready to play a part after recent injuries. All the while, the South African is wary of what his new charges face this weekend, particularly up front.

Samoan head coach Stephen Betham has worked hard to instill a sense of structure into his nation’s play since taking over in April 2012, allowing their explosive carrying and tackling to function within a more reliable system. The signs have been good and wins over Wales, Scotland and Italy in the last year have been encouraging.

Plumtree is quick to agree that Betham has his charges playing more as a unit than ever before, and says that brings new challenges for Ireland.

I think in the past Samoa relied on a lot of individuals but I was in South Africa when they were playing over there against Scotland, Italy and South Africa and they were playing as a team. Defensively they were really well organised.

“They were training at my son’s school so when I was going down to pick them up I was watching their training for a bit. They were well organised, training was good and their work ethic was strong.

“They have really stepped up and I guess it is really because of the individuals they have playing around the world now, being exposed to different things, different teams and different environments and different cultures. They are a real threat now because they are not only dangerous because they are individually good. They play as a team.”

Samoa trained at Blackrock RFC this afternoon. ©INPHO/Cathal Noonan.

When Ireland were first handed this November schedule, the impression had been that Samoa would be the most winnable of the three games, possibly even a chance to push some of the more inexperienced squad members into starting roles. That perception has slowly shifted in recent months, largely due to the much-cited fact that Samoa are ranked above Ireland.

However, there is more to their threat than the IRB’s ranking points; Samoa can play. Plumtree points out that Ireland haven’t considered fielding a ‘development’ team or resting some of the bigger names.

“That hasn’t really come into our talking. It is just about being organised. We’ve had some injuries, some players unavailable, guys carrying injuries through camp week and this week as well.

So we have had to look at everyone individually to see where they are physically and then look at the team from there. Obviously we have had to really focus a lot on ourselves over the last couple of days, getting organised and that is what we have been doing.”

With mammoths like Census Johnston, Joe Tekori and Logovi’i Mulipola to pick from up front, Plumtree is anticipating a huge battle up front. Ireland’s pack will need to be ready for what could be the most bruising of all three games this November.

“Their big forwards up front, they play over this part of the world as well, so you know they are going to be physical. So they are pretty experienced so they will be a a genuine threat at the weekend, a good test.”

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