IRELAND CAPTAIN JAMIE Heaslip says his team-mates have tried to put the error-strewn defeat to England behind them for this Sunday’s clash with Scotland.
Ireland go into the game knowing anything but a win will end their interest in the tournament.
With over 10 players ruled out and confidence needing a boost after a try-less home defeat, the new-look Scots have began to fancy their chances.
However, Heaslip insisted the damp day at the Aviva Stadium will be far from their minds in Edinburgh:
“Obviously it lingers with you. It’s probably a bad thing (that) you can’t go training straight away,” said the number eight.
“You can’t let it linger as you can’t let a win linger. We’re very focused on this week, a big challenge again. Scotland are riding high in confidence, they are playing some good football, a lot of strike runners and not afraid to play with a bit of width. Their counter-attack and turnover is where they are most dangerous as well. They have a very well-rounded game that we got to be ready for.”
Accuracy
He added: “They’ve got the most tries in the competition (six) and they’ve scored a lot of them from turnovers and opportune ones. It just shows that they have got a very good defence and are forcing a lot of turnovers and are quite clinical when they do that.”
The key, says the skipper, is ‘accuracy’ – a buzz-word which has taken hold of Irish rugby as it covers a multitude of areas, but mainly the efficiency of passing, tackling and rucking.
“We’ve got to be very accurate really with the ball, in the quality ball we provide for the backs, how we carry ourselves into contact and winning the gain-line battle constant, negating them winning the gain-line battle when they have the ball. A big challenge but something that we are more than capable of stepping up to and really looking forward to it.”
Even without considering his mantle of captain, Heaslip has become one of the most experienced members of the squad in recent months as bodies drop away. So it is his place to offer advice to those coming into the bear-pit of Murrayfield, a venue Heaslip has experienced the full range of emotions having lost internationals and won Heineken Cups there.
As for his words of wisdom for the young debutants, Paddy Jackson and Luke Marshall:
“At Six Nations level, at international level, the space is just closed.” He says, surrounded by microphones in a corner of Carton House.
“The margins (for error) come down for it more from domestically to the Heineken Cup. And then the step up to international level to the step up to Six Nations level: The margins and the space gets smaller and smaller. I’ve 100 per cent faith in Luke and Paddy to be capable of dealing with that kind of pressure on them.
“They are picked because they are ready, because they are good enough. The thing is, you are going to have 14 guys who are rowing in right behind them. (If) they see a chance, take it and just play the game they way they want to play.”
Ciaran McDonald is the better footballer I think, O’Connor seems to get a lot of his scores from frees.
Is the last point of the article about Jim McGuiness giving a class on sledging true? First I have heard of it.
Re: the sledging, it is true if you believe what you read it Kevin Cassidy’s book – the book that saw him kicked off the team. Donegal had a team meeting and decided to use it to get into the heads of other teams.
Ciaran McDonald. need I say more…
“He is in the top two or three players in the country” what a joke of a statement. Hardly Mayo bias on Bradys part.
Michael Murphy, James O’Donoghue, Gooch, Paul Flynn to name but a few that are better outside Mayo and I would argue Keith Higgins and Aidan O Shea are better also within the Mayo team. He doesn’t have the speed to ever be the forward Mayo need to win an AI.
Finally saying he is better than Mcdonald should be a form of blasphemy punishable by death.
God, I really wish David Brady would keep quiet! Has he not enough pressure on his shoulders already? He has a long way to go before he can consider himself better than Ciarán MacDonald, James Nallen or even Alan Dillon.
He’s the best cry baby I’ve ever seen
Mayo for Ham
McDonald without a doubt was better,o connor is good but don’t know if he’d make the top 3 in the country even,gooch,brogan,Murphy ahead of him for me
conor McManus is up there too, basically carries Monaghan
He’s a great man to knock over a 14 yard free though in fairness
dosent matter how good he is.all he,ll ever win is connaught medals.
The amount of hype about Mayo in general is unreal. The Newcastle United of Gaelic football
By the most cynical analysts of Ireland Mayo are nowhere outside the top 4 teams of the country, bit of a stretch to compare us to a team nearly relegated in the English league.
Ah come on, I would say we’re the Holland of Gaelic football…
He can be but not yet….
His turning out to be a brilliant footballer. Finally Mayo have a quality scoring forward. Can’t remember Mayo having one of these. Had some serious injuries. Not as good as Ciaran Mc tho.
Id say there’s a few boys who saw Peter Solan, Tom Langan, Eamon Mongey, Pairic Carney, Peter Quinn, and the like who might not agree.
I agree with the Luke fella fully,o Conner is probably the most overated player in the county
He scored one point from play on Sunday…Brady is and always has been a meathead
Era Mayo are only bottlers. They get a dirty nappy when it’s the third Sunday of September. Couldn’t hold it together down in Limerick either.
if he wins an all ireland he will be! your nobody in gaelic or hurling until you have an all ireland senior
NO!
O’connor may be good but better than Ciaran McDonald not a chance.Let me put it this way would O’Connor pull a game out of the fire the way a gooch,brogan or Murphy would??
Conor McManus far better player not just with Monaghan but he was the best player on the pitch in the most recent Compromised Rules match.
No.
When this guy kicks 10 points in an All Ireland then we can have this debate. Bloody hell
This fella comes across as an ignorant fan.