IRELAND DEFENCE COACH Les Kiss is confident that the watching public will see a greatly improved performance without the rugby ball when the hosts face up to New Zealand on Lansdowne Road tomorrow.
Kiss looks like a man who may have earned a few extra grey hairs after watching his defence open up time and again in last week’s home defeat to Australia.
Monday morning made for some painful viewing and honest exchanges as Kiss, Joe Schmidt and the players carried out the Test match post mortem.
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Tomorrow, with only good news issued on the fitness of Rob Kearney, Brian O’Driscoll and Jonathan Sexton after this morning’s captain’s run, Kiss says Ireland will ‘front up’ and show some of the line speed they were lacking against the Wallabies.
“Will it be a perfect performance?” Kiss asks himself, “I don’t think so, but we need to really challenge ourselves to front up to this and act on our belief. 18 months ago we faced them in Christchurch and we went to a place that we were very unlucky not to get the money.
Fire
“We know we can go to that place if we need to – we need to front up to the challenge.
“I think the key for us is to really act on that belief. Not just say it, go out there and do what we said we’d do and do it with a real intensity and fire in our hearts and bellies that make it happen for us.”
Though the Australian mentioned Christchurch – where Ireland narrowly lost to the All Blacks last June – he insisted that the squad had ‘parked’ their history with New Zealand and were looking to continue their progress with the tactical and technical processes that come with a new regime.
“We hope we can really get our head around a couple of key things we need to do this week to make sure we can make a difference.
“The truth is a lot of it does come down to the attitude in defence. Believe you me, we talk about it each week and we go out there and act on it. This is the big team to do it against – we’re up for it.”
The key, says the defence coach, is that the 15 men selected for tomorrow’s Test against World Champions trust in the changes that he and Schmidt have tried to put in place since June with a view to putting the side in top gear for the Six Nations kick-off in February.
“We’re seeing the green shoots of progress internally, we have to believe that and trust that. This is our last opportunity in this window to to put ourselves under the [right amount of] pressure. Hopefully we see some gains.
Betfair have it at 24/1 for a home win, irish bookies have the spread @20 points.
Can’t remember seeing numbers like this before for a Irish home game.
I hope they go out and give them a right good lash.
The amount of messages coming from the Irish players and coaches over the last week has me really worried about tomorrow. Do the talking on the pitch guys and enough of the guff.
Kenneth, you can actually talk sense without sounding a clown when a camera or a mic is in your face!! At the moment you would swear we were as invincible as the all blacks the way the media and the players are talking!! We are setting ourselves up for a mighty fall!! The All Blacks will hear all this cr@p talk and be even more buoyed up!! Silly us!!!
Was at the Aussie game. Boys v men. Extremely limited going forward…. school teams have more options. Even worse in defence. Shoddy, lazy, amateur. Appalling stuff from a highly trained group of professionals.
My opinion… The All-Blacks are gonna murder us. 20 points seems very conservative. 30+ more on the mark.
C O Y B I G. I really hope they at least show determination at the breakdown. RICHIE MCaw couldn’t fall in an onside position if he tripped 10 meters behind his own line so when he rolls offside as usual. Pin him there and take the penalties don’t let him move away slowly. They truly are the masters of illegality. But damn it. They are also the masters of all the rest too. A reluctant blacks win by 20 plus. But I also believe we CAN DO IT but probably won’t.
If you listen closely you’ll hear the All Blacks getting on with the job, players should have a blanket ban on interviews a few days before a game, all these sound bites or avian Healy being ignorant isn’t going to win us a game
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If rugby was about talking we would be the world’s best.
Wat Eva who cares
I couldn’t agree more , and most of it is bullshit
Betfair have it at 24/1 for a home win, irish bookies have the spread @20 points.
Can’t remember seeing numbers like this before for a Irish home game.
I hope they go out and give them a right good lash.
The amount of messages coming from the Irish players and coaches over the last week has me really worried about tomorrow. Do the talking on the pitch guys and enough of the guff.
When a camera is shoved in your face if you say nothing you are accused of arrogance if you talk your still hung- cant win
Kenneth, you can actually talk sense without sounding a clown when a camera or a mic is in your face!! At the moment you would swear we were as invincible as the all blacks the way the media and the players are talking!! We are setting ourselves up for a mighty fall!! The All Blacks will hear all this cr@p talk and be even more buoyed up!! Silly us!!!
Was at the Aussie game. Boys v men. Extremely limited going forward…. school teams have more options. Even worse in defence. Shoddy, lazy, amateur. Appalling stuff from a highly trained group of professionals.
My opinion… The All-Blacks are gonna murder us. 20 points seems very conservative. 30+ more on the mark.
* weeps *
C O Y B I G. I really hope they at least show determination at the breakdown. RICHIE MCaw couldn’t fall in an onside position if he tripped 10 meters behind his own line so when he rolls offside as usual. Pin him there and take the penalties don’t let him move away slowly. They truly are the masters of illegality. But damn it. They are also the masters of all the rest too. A reluctant blacks win by 20 plus. But I also believe we CAN DO IT but probably won’t.
The refs are in awe and let them live off side.
Get Isaac Boss to face them and do a Haka with the Irish team behind him. He was born in NZ. Crowd would go mad and give us an early lift.
What a load of rubbish, rugby coaches should stick to coaching and leave the talking to the armchair experts!
Ire 10 NZ 29, sadly.
Given the way Australia played against us, I hope Joe Schmidt lets our lads off to the pub during the week.
If you listen closely you’ll hear the All Blacks getting on with the job, players should have a blanket ban on interviews a few days before a game, all these sound bites or avian Healy being ignorant isn’t going to win us a game
Will Sexton and Kearney even last 10 mins? They’ll be targeted for sure. Racing can’t be over the moon about sexton playing …
What a load of crap! We are in bad shape and lack everything needed to compete in a test match like this. We will do well to stay within 30 points.
Can never understand why so much hype for a friendly international. What does this game really equate to only a scoreline.
Ireland to win by a try…..
Sacha Mahady COYBIG is a term associated with the Irish football team stick to your egg chasing please
I am sorry Neil. I will say 12 Hail Marys and pay the copyright money to Delaney.
Neil Moron, sorry Moran!! Grow up!
99 reasons why we cannot beat the all blacks give you one they don’t know the meaning of the word lose jp
Love the photo. Talk about invisible handcuffs lol
More like “Look my heads this size!”
all blacks walk it by 20 plus,we havent a hope