RORY BEST INSISTS Ireland will taking any scoring chance that comes there way, whether it is entirely legal or not.
The Ulster hooker was on the pitch in March 2011 when his opposite number, Matthew Rees, took a fresh ball from a ball-boy and swiped a quick pass to set Mike Phillips up the line.
Phillips converted try was the difference that day as Ireland lost 19-13 but Best holds no grudges towards either of the Welshmen.
He told TheScore.ie, “You take a win, no matter what. The way that rule was bent slightly is no different to the 7′s cheating in and around the breakdown.
“At the end of the day, the laws are there to be pushed and the referee must make sure they are not pushed too far.” He added:
If we had’ve scored that try we would have taken the five points.
“It’s up to the officials to pick that up. The laws are there as a bit of a loose guide for the players to follow.”
Phillips pounced on a slumbering Irish defence at the World Cup seven months later to break the back of their quarter-final challenge.
“We probably switched off for a bit and it cost us,” said Best.
The extra loosie
Best is often deployed as an extra loose forward in Irish attacks and he scored two tries in last year’s Six Nations, the first of which was against the Welsh at Lansdowne Road.
“I haven’t exactly been prolific this season,” He remarked. “If you have a spare few pounds, I wouldn’t recommend you to put it on me for first try-scorer.”
“You never know, he added, “it’s happened before.
“What most important for us as a player group is the result and performance. Whoever gets the points gets the points.”
With the Welsh team announced, Ireland will be targeting the hosts at the lineout but know where the game will, most likely, be won and lost.
Best said, “12 months ago [Warburton] was their talisman and their go-to player. I don’t think he’s struggling that badly, he showed glimpses of form in the November internationals.”
He added, “We have to be accurate at the breakdown… so many of the big international games comes down to that battle and we need to make sure we’re there.”
What a down to earth player