A little over three years ago, it’s likely Joe Schmidt sat in his local bar having a quiet drink as he contemplated events of the previous few weeks at the 2015 RWC.
His team, that he thought were prepared to within a millimetre of precision, had been out-fought and out-thought in the quarterfinal by Argentina who came better prepared, and critically with better depth, to outplay the Irish with a 43-20 comfortable win as Ireland were found wanting.
Once again, the Pumas had knocked out Ireland in an RWC. Schmidt made a silent commitment to never be caught like that again.
His team went into the quarterfinal missing key players through injury and suspension. Paul O’Connell, Peter O’Mahony, Sean O’Brien, Jonathan Sexton, Jared Payne – were all in his first-team picks, and their replacements had come up well shy.
All teams get injuries, but the Irish squad quality depth fell away after the match-day 23 in having matching replacement talent when those injuries inevitably occurred. Next time, maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference but Schmidt doesn’t want to die wondering.
Ireland meet Argentina again this weekend for their ninth test at Lansdowne Road. They’ve always been snarly, combustible, in your face affairs – with a lot of bad blood between the teams.
This, particularly during the noughties, when they were led by former Leinster fly-half, Felipe Contemponi, who was always singled out for treatment when Munster were in their pomp.
Despite the aggression, and their 3-1 RWC winning record, Argentina have never won in Dublin. Mario Ledesma is determined to change that this weekend. It should be a feisty affair and not one for any player who might be thinking about future battles.
(Photo by Steve Haag/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
For Schmidt, the game presents a dual challenge – to maintain Ireland’s 100 per cent home record against the Pumas – and equally important – to continue giving more game time to the players he’s been developing assiduously since the 2016 Six Nations.
The four November tests present three opportunities to do that. The first was last weekend, against Italy in Chicago, this week in the Pumas game, and in their final test against the USA on 24 Nov.
Since 2015, Schmidt has given new caps to 35 players, the second highest after South Africa. Last weekend were the most recent – Ross Byrne, the third option at ten, and Will Addison, a utility-back who can cover 13, wing and full-back.
Both players are slotted into the Schmidt system and acquitted themselves well, according to their coach.
Most of last weekend’s 23 squad were essentially Schmidt’s B team back-ups. They won handily scoring eight tries against a largely Italian B team.
His props, Jack McGrath – his regular bench option and Munster’s Dave Kilcoyne, who has been improving steadily. Andrew Porter, a 22-year old tighthead at Leinster who already has a 6N grand slam and European Cup under his belt.
Finlay Bealham also featured in the Chicago win in 2016 and is able to cover both sides of the scrum. Munster’s John Ryan, another TH backup for Tadgh Furlong, will be on the pitch this week.
In Chicago last week, Niall Scannell and Sean Cronin were fighting to get one of the two spots behind captain Rory Best at hooker. Best’s club hooking teammate, Rob Herring, will also likely get another chance to shine on Saturday.
Devin Toner continues to be a reliable Schmidt favourite coming from the bench. As Ireland’s lock stocks have bloomed with Munster’s Tadgh Beirne and Quinn Roux starting against the Italians.
This makes it likely that James Ryan and Iain Henderson will get in first-up against the Pumas. One of the five will lose out for Japan but knows they will be on standby.
In the back row, the absence of Sean O’Brien all year has hardly been noticed with the emergence of opensider, Dan Leavy, alongside Josh van der Flier, Rhys Ruddock, Jordi Murphy and Jack Conan. They will compete with O’Mahony and CJ Stander.
It’s quite possible that by the time of the RWC, the starting trio of SOB, POM and Stander may no longer be a given with two players competing for each of their positions.
(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
The injury to Conor Murray, who wasn’t named in the November squad of 42 players, gives a chance to three scrum-halves to burnish their credentials further. Against Italy, it was Luke McGrath and John Cooney, with 21-capped, Kieran Marmion likely to start this week.
Joey Carbery got another start at leading the line against the Italians, but has his former Leinster team-mate, Ross Byrne, breathing down his neck for the 22 shirt. Sexton may start against Argentina, but it’s who Schmidt selects for the bench that will be interesting.
In midfield, Schmidt has two unfortunate injuries for possible outside centres – Chris Farrell who performed well during the 2018 Six Nations and uncapped, Sammy Arnold, who has been excellent form with Munster this season.
Both would be alternates to Garry Ringrose who started against Italy and is fast becoming the defensive lynchpin for the backline.
Stuart McCloskey is sitting behind Henshaw and Aki for the 12 shirt and should get a game, but may have to wait for the USA match before that happens. Newcomer, Will Addison, might be tried at 13 or 15 again this weekend.
In the back three, a training injury to Rob Kearney put Jordan Larmour in the hot seat from the off, and he responded with a dancing, weaving hat-trick against an admittedly weak Italian defence.
He still has a lot to learn, and the quicksilver Pumas back-three will be looking to test him hard if he gets a start again this week. Jacob Stockdale, Keith Earls, Andrew Conway, and relative newbie, Darren Sweetnam are also in the mix, although Sweetnam is more likely to feature against the USA in the final test.
Whilst the New Zealand match is obviously important, it is the other November tests that are Schmidt’s final best chance to see what other talents he can mine as he continues digging for depth to complete his 31-man RWC squad in the hope of ultimately finding gold in Japan.
Ireland squad with caps for November Tests – 2018
Hookers
Rory Best – 111; Rob Herring – 6; Sean Cronin – 63; Niall Scannell – 10
Props
Tadhg Furlong – 26; Andrew Porter – 9; John Ryan – 15; Finlay Bealham – 8; Cian Healy – 81; Dave Kilcoyne – 23; Jack McGrath – 51
Locks
Tadhg Beirne – 3; Iain Henderson – 39; Quinn Roux – 7; James Ryan – 11; Devin Toner – 61
Backrowers
Dan Leavy – 10; Josh van der Flier – 11; Jordi Murphy – 23; Sean O’Brien – 51; Peter O’Mahony – 50; Rhys Ruddock – 20; Jack Conan – 10; CJ Stander – 26
Scrumhalves
John Cooney – 2; Kieran Marmion – 22; Luke McGrath – 6
Out-halves
Ross Byrne 1; Joey Carbery 13; Jonathan Sexton 76
Centres
Garry Ringrose – 15; Robbie Henshaw – 36; Will Addison – 1; Bundee Aki – 10; Sam Arnold – 0; Stuart McCloskey – 2
Back three
Andrew Conway – 8; Keith Earls – 70; Rob Kearney – 86; Jordan Larmour – 7; Jacob Stockdale – 12; Darren Sweetnam – 2
(Photo by Lynne Cameron/Getty Images)
Derm
Roar Guru
Ireland got a good run out for their newbies in the game against New Zealand. Van der Flier, Ringrose, Marmion, McGrath, Stockdale all did well in a 16-9 win over the NZ side.
Derm
Roar Guru
Ireland team to play New Zealand at the weekend has been announced. It features a mix of old stalwarts and some relative newbies. 15 Rob Kearney 14 Keith Earls 13 Garry Ringrose 12 Bundee Aki 11 Jacob Stockdale 10 Jonathan Sexton 9 Kieran Marmion 1 Cian Healy 2 Rory Best 3 Tadgh Furlong 4 James Ryan 5 Devin Toner 6 Peter O'Mahony 7 Dan Leavy 8 CJ Stander Reps: Sean Cronin, Jack McGrath, Andrew Porter, Iain Henderson, Josh van der Flier, Luke McGrath, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour. 15 of the players from the 2013 game are gone. 9 of the players who played in Chicago and 9 from the Dublin game in 2016 are replaced. J McGrath, Healy, Best, Cronin, Toner, Sexton, Kearney have been involved in all three. Under Schmidt, the average margin over the games is 3 points for NZ between the two teams.
Derm
Roar Guru
Looks like Schmidt will be able to use the NZ game to test out some of his newbies after all. At this stage of the week, O'Brien, Murray, and Henshaw have all been confirmed as not able to play - all three guaranteed starters otherwise. There's still a question mark over Rob Kearney at 15, Kieran Marmion the second choice SH, along with Garry Ringrose who couldn't play against Pumas, and now Bundee Aki who turned his ankle during the game. If one of them goes out, then Ulster's Will Addison may get his second starting cap a lot sooner than he expected, after coming down from the stands in Landsdowne to pull on a jersey after Henshaw did his hammy in the warm-up. Up front, things look a little rosier with the front row of Healy, Best and Furlong good to go. Behind them, Devin Toner is likely to partner with 22 year old, James Ryan, who could have won man-of-the-match against Argentina putting in the most tackles, and gaining hard yards. With SOB out, Dan Leavy may get another shout after his superb bench performance last week, although Josh van der Flier or Jordi Murphy may have something to say about that. POM and Stander should continue as they are. Sexton to lead the line. Should be fun.
P2R2
Roar Rookie
...having his last hurrah before he heads back to NZ to be the next AB Coach....the legacy continues...
Derm
Roar Guru
Hi Derek - no I haven’t seen it. It was on BT service which I don’t have access to.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
Thanks for this Derm. The work being done at the provinces (Leinster are beasts) is feeding the national squad. So much real quality now across the park. I really like both Ryan and Henderson. Off topic question - did you see BOD’s doco Shoulder to Shoulder? Did you find it interesting or was it less so for a local?
Faith
Roar Rookie
I guess all teams (even NZ) realy on key players but there is a popular idea that Ireland will not win the RWC without Sexton. That's a major weakness. Even ABs would have to find a way to play with Barrett. And even Retallick - it would be tough but they would not be written off ... That over reliance on Sexton not good ...
Derm
Roar Guru
Yep in Leinster. With family in Ulster.
mzilikazi
Roar Pro
Derm, I have only seen a utube highlights piece of the Italy game. Very impressive scores there, especially the left wing effort by Larmour. He could become another player of the stature of Brian O'Driscoll. He has speed, and great balance. And looks to have a good attitude as well. I read a piece somewhere in the last few months about him coming into the Irish squad for the first time, to gain some experience, and one of the senior players saying that in most session, he did at least one amazing thing. Tadgh Beirne is also looking very good. He could well force his way into the starting team by the time Japan comes around. He is certainly a huge asset to have as cover for the current starters. I am always interested in where Roarers come from/are based. Are you in Ireland ? If so I would be guessing maybe Leinster somewhere ?
Derm
Roar Guru
Hey Mzilikazi - good to hear from you again. Glad you liked the update from the old sod, it's been great fun watching this bunch over the last 12 months. Don't know if you saw any of the Italy match in Chicago, but Larmour was in rare form as was Tadgh Beirne who got a couple of tries for himself. Still lots to play and find out who's going to stay the course and who'll be found wanting. The next three tests should be great to watch.
mzilikazi
Roar Pro
Great article, Derm. Thanks. And good to hear from you again. I keep a close eye on Irish rugby, as an Ulster born Australian, but your article brings me right up to speed with the full range of talent at Ireland's call now. I think very exciting times now for the men in green, and all followers of Irish rugby. The depth of reserves is as good as I have ever seen. Really looking forward to these games, and thankful WB's don't play Ireland this time around....just can't fathom how we can do well against Ireland, and then fall so badly to NZ.
Derm
Roar Guru
Hi Geoff - thanks for that. Agree about Australia. If he’d got a couple more wins on his board he might have had a bit more license. Schmidt isn’t there yet and the enforced absence of Murray is going shine a light on them more than before. Ditto the over reliance on Sexton. Other positions are looking better - they just need game time to bring up their pitch miles.
Geoff Parkes
Expert
Spot on Derm, you can't win a World Cup with 23 players. Nor maintain 1 or 2 ranking for that matter. Not all of those players are world beaters, but Schmidt has done a sterling job. The contrast with Australia is stark. Cheika badly needs to win all three tour matches so he's in a corner and has to keep playing Genia and Foley, for example. But the downside of not developing alternatives is a huge potential risk that will bite hard if there are injuries. Argentina to some extent is similar with its over reliance on Sanchez, although to be fair their overall depth is improving.
Machpants
Roar Guru
The excellent 1014 Rugby has covered Ireland's great depth profile recently https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd5aQl1eyw0 SH teams here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExehsWMsYcI
Derm
Roar Guru
Hi Adsa - there’s a test against the NZ team in two weeks time but won’t tell much about depth really. Ireland team to face Argentina has been announced. J Larmour; K Earls, R Henshaw, B Aki, J Stockdale; J Sexton, K Marmion; C Healy, R Best (capt), T Furlong; I Henderson, J Ryan; P O’Mahony, S O’Brien, CJ Stander. Reps: S Cronin, J McGrath, A Porter, D Toner, D Leavy, L McGrath, J Carbery, A Conway. Really looking forward to this one. Pumas have some fantastic attacking play.
Adsa
Roar Rookie
Smart stuff building depths before the RWC Poth, it adds to the success of the Oz tour. The Argies this week will be a blockbuster match, but was there no chance of the IRU trying to get a game v Boks or the Darkness? A game v USA whilst good to blood players would not fill the Stadium.