SAM WARBURTON, DAN Lydiate and Toby Faletau.
Those three names will be bouncing around the heads of Ireland’s back row players this week as Saturday’s clash with Wales draws ever closer. That trio is one of the reasons Warren Gatland’s side have won back-to-back Six Nations titles and their range of skills offers a classic balance.
Having made his home debut off the bench for Ireland against Scotland on Sunday, Tommy O’Donnell now has ambitions of impacting on the effectiveness of the Welsh back row, be it as a replacement or in the starting team. Either way, he is aware of the challenge he faces.
“They have a great balance across their back row. They’re able to ball carry and they’re very good on the ground. Warburton and Lydiate are two of the best poachers in the game and with the chop tackle they work very well together.
Faletau is no slump on the ground either, so we’re well prepared going into this game. We know what we’re up against and we know that we have to get those threats out of our breakdown.”
O’Donnell has performed wonderfully for Munster in recent times, having burst back into form after a knee injury ruined the start of his season. The 26-year-old won his first Ireland caps last summer against the US and Canada, scoring a try against the latter.
Last weekend’s clash in Dublin allowed him a taste of top-level international rugby though, something he feels drawn to experience as often as possible in the coming weeks, months and years.
“It was fantastic to get a chance with the full squad and to see what kind of professionals the lads are. Obviously they were missing during the summer [away on the Lions tour], so to get out during the anthems and get the real atmosphere in the stadium was fantastic.
“It definitely whet the appetite and you just want more. I was remarking to friends and family that you can see how it’s addictive playing in that atmosphere and you really just want more of it.”
O’Donnell impressed as a second half substitute, playing 14 minutes in which he carried the ball twice, completed two tackles and made his presence felt at the breakdown. Overall, Ireland were not in peak form, but the Tipperary man points out that there is a long way to go in this competition yet.
“You don’t win a Six Nations in the first game of the championship. We started off very well last year and went down; Wales started off badly and went up. So you have to keep improving, you can’t rest on your laurels.
“Straight away after in the dressing room, Joe said, ‘Lads, well done, great win. We battled, we did some good things but we also did some things we can be better at.’ Straight away from then on, we were focused on next weekend. We got the recovery in and just started preparing.”
Learning
Working so closely Schmidt this spring has been a new experience for the Munster openside, with Les Kiss having taken charge of the tour to North America during the summer. As ever, the player speaks positively about the New Zealander.
“Joe’s a very good coach. He makes you study, with the pressure he puts on you during the week. He makes you constantly know that you’re checking things. You go through your ‘mind gym’ to make sure that if you’re not actually running a play in person, you’re running it in your head.
He’s a great coach in that regard and I’ve learned a lot from him in that you have to be 100% prepared and be ready for every situation. Playing at six, seven, you might come on at No. 8. You have to know the line-outs so you’re prepared to slot in.”
O’Donnell has been putting in some focused training with forwards coach John Plumtree too, specifically around the breakdown, which the flanker says is “such an important facet of the game.” The feedback from Schmidt following his outing for the Wolfhounds two weekends ago was positive.
For O’Donnell, his international career is on an upward curve at the moment. Now, he wants to get onto the pitch to show exactly what he is capable of. Taking on the Welsh would be his biggest test yet, particularly with Gatland having inspired such confidence in his squad.
O’Donnell says Ireland are hoping to articualte their own self-belief next weekend.
“I suppose the Welsh are a confident nation. Ireland are used to being the underdogs but I think it’s something that we have to get better at; believing we can win. We know the quality of rugby we’ve played, how many Heineken Cup winners we’ve had in the last few years.
“We’re naturally the underdogs but I think it’s something we have to embrace; being the winners.”
