September 2015
SPECIAL PREVIEW EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH IRISH RUGBY STARS
THE NEXT STAGE There’s quiet optimism about Ireland’s prospects as the Rugby World Cup kicks off this month. David Robbins hears from players how the team are determined to take it one match at a time. Photographs by Anthony Woods. 35 |
SEPTEMBER 2015
I
t is a memory that won’t go away. It comes back, sometimes at night, and is all the more harrowing for being so familiar. It is 1999, and I am sitting in a café in deepest France, watching Ireland play against Argentina in the Rugby World Cup. The match is being played nearby, in the city of Lens. The game is almost over. Argentina are leading and Ireland have one last chance to score. A win would put them in the quarter-final. Lose and they’re out of the competition. They try their trademark tactic of putting 13 men in the lineout. They drive for the line and the try that will bring redemption. Argentina keep them out and the referee blows the whistle for the end of the match. Much has changed since that game, regarded by fans as the darkest day of Irish rugby. Warren Gatland, who coached Ireland back then, now coaches Wales. The players have retired. Rugby is a different, more professional sport. Yet much remains the same. Ireland have still never made it to the semi-final of the competition. They have under-performed in one World Cup after another. Watching them play against second-rank teams such as Namibia and Romania has become a kind of torture. But this time, as they prepare for the 2015 Rugby World Cup – to be played between September 18 and October 31 at venues around England and Wales – there is a different feeling about Ireland. At the time of writing, they have risen to number two in the world rankings, thanks to successive Six Nations titles and a convincing victory over Wales in a World Cup warm-up match. They have always been capable of one-off Smart Flies big performances but now they are Aer Lingus more consistent. Their coach, Joe Schmidt, is regarded as one of the Irish rugby fans can make the best in the world, and they have a smart choice and fly with strong squad. They have also been Aer Lingus, the official airline of the drawn in a relatively easy pool of teams. They must play Canada, Irish rugby team. Supporters can find Romania and Italy, matches they out more at aerlingus.com and are expected to win, before facing by following the #GreenSpirit France in a pool decider. If they win against France, it is likely they will hashtag on social media. face Argentina in the quarter-finals, England in the semi-finals and defending champions New Zealand in the final. Hypothetically, of course. But nobody in the Ireland camp will admit to thinking that far ahead. “I’ve long
Aer Lingus – A Proud Partner of Irish Rugby Aer Lingus has increased services to accommodate fans travelling to the UK for the following upcoming matches. Saturday, September 19 – vs Canada, 2.30pm, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. • 12 additional flights between Dublin and Cardiff; plus 1,500 additional seats. • Availability on flights from Dublin and Cork to nearby Bristol. Sunday, September 27 – vs Romania, 4.45pm, Wembley Stadium, London. • 31 scheduled flights per day from Dublin/Cork/Shannon/ Knock/Belfast to London Heathrow and London Gatwick. • 5,500 seats available per day in each direction.
since given up trying to predict how pools or tournaments will work out,” says Ireland and Leinster fullback Rob Kearney. “As a group we are very much next-challenge focused, so the Guinness Series of [pre-World Cup warm-up] Tests is our prime focus at present and looking to gel together and develop some form on the run in to the tournament. “Beyond that, the only focus we will have will be delivering a good performance against Canada. We have shown in the past that if we get our performance right we can be competitive at the highest level and the challenge for us is to reach a
high level of performance and then replicate it week on week,” he says. Robbie Henshaw, one of the younger squad members, agrees. “France will be the main challenge but Italy will be difficult too. And Canada in the first match. There are no easy games.” Henshaw, who plays in mid-field for Connacht, performed well for Ireland in the 2015 Six Nations, scoring a memorable try against England. He is expected to feature strongly in the tournament. “I’m looking forward to coming up against France,” he says. “I’ve always enjoyed playing against them, even
Sunday, October 4 – vs Italy, 4.45pm, Olympic Stadium, London. • 31 scheduled flights per day from Dublin/Cork/Shannon/ Knock/Belfast to London Heathrow and London Gatwick. • 5,500 seats available per day in each direction. Clockwise from top-left, Aer Lingus Brand Ambassadors Rob Kearney, Robbie Henshaw, Conor Murray, and Tommy Bowe.
Sunday, October 11 – vs France, 4.45pm, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. • 20 additional flights between Dublin and Cardiff • 2,600 additional seats Quarter-finals will be played over the weekend of October 17, two each in Twickenham, London; and Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. Semifinals take place on October 24 and 25 in Twickenham, with the final on Saturday, October 31, also in Twickenham.
INTERVIEW
Robbie Henshaw’s Match-day Preparation
at under-age level. This time round, it might be a more open game. The last one [when Ireland beat France 18-11 in the 2015 Six Nations], I suppose it wasn’t a great game to watch, but it was intense down on the pitch. In that match, there was only one try, and they got it. But we kicked all our penalties. There will hopefully be some more tries involved this time.” Much of the optimism about Ireland’s chances in the competition is based on the reputation of Schmidt. His honesty and selfdeprecation have endeared him to the Irish public. He was a hugely successful head coach at Leinster before taking the job as Ireland coach. He is famous for his attention to detail and his liking for honest, hard-working players. “Yes, attention to detail is a key thing for Joe,” says Ulster and Ireland winger Tommy Bowe, “but as a group everyone has really bought into how things are approached in the Ireland camp. For players it’s about having confidence to go out and perform to the best of your ability and by being well prepared yourself and knowing
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“I always eat the same thing before the game. We all do. It’s usually spaghetti bolognese, some sweet potato mash and then pancakes with natural yoghurt and honey. Oh, and tons of water. I put the headphones on early, before boarding the bus. I like to listen to something upbeat. As soon as I get off the bus, I get into the zone. I make a point of taking a walk on my own out onto the pitch, just to see where the wind is coming from, to see whether the grass is wet or whether it’s bone dry. I always say a small prayer before running out. I always look to get ‘a settler’ early in the game. I try to do something positive for the team, whether it’s a tackle, a kick or a turnover.”
Robbie Henshaw scores a try, despite the best efforts of England’s Alex Goode, during the RBS Six Nations match on March 1, 2015.
that the guys either side of you have also prepared really well.” Normally, Schmidt gets limited time with his squad because they are playing with their club teams. But in a World Cup year, he gets to have them in camp for several weeks. “We’re together much longer than in the Six Nations,” says Henshaw. “We’ve had six weeks of pure training. Lots of fitness work. It’s very different for a World Cup; we’ve lots more time on our hands. We do lots of gym sessions – sometimes two per day. It’s quite intense. “Joe has more time to go into detail,” he adds. “We’re seeing more of that. He has time to be more specific about what he wants players to do. He can go into the finer details. He tells us what he wants us to be more accurate at.” Conor Murray, the Munster and Ireland scrumhalf, was a surprise selection for the 2011 World Cup. He’s now an established member of the squad. “You always want to improve as a player,” he says, “and Joe and the coaching staff are great in guiding you in the right direction – very often it is small
little things. We all want to be in the squad and we work really hard for each other regardless of who gets selected.” The 2015 version of the World Cup is of a completely different order to the first staging of the event in 1987. Back then, the game was amateur and the competition was a quaint, invitation-only affair. Now, the organisers claim it’s the third biggest global sporting event, with 20 teams divided into four pools of five. Some 48 matches will be played in 13 stadiums and it’s expected that 2.5 million match tickets will be sold. The numbers are impressive, but for Irish supporters, there is only one statistic of real importance: the digits on the electronic scoreboard in the Millennium Stadium at about 6pm on Sunday, October 11 at the end of Ireland’s match against France. If those numbers are right, everything becomes possible. Match tickets are available at tickets.rugbyworldcup.com. Follow @aerlingus #greenspirit