In this week’s ‘Ruck and Roll’ column, in partnership with BoyleSports, former Ireland international Dan Leavy previews Ireland v New Zealand.
EARLIER THIS WEEK, I met with former All Blacks scrum-half Andy Ellis who interviewed me ahead of Saturday’s quarter-final between our two countries.
I thought it was interesting the All Blacks boss had immediately reached for a negative sentiment rather than spinning the game as a challenge to relish. How un-Kiwi-like is that?Rob Herring powers over to score in Ireland's third Test victory in New Zealand in 2022. Incredibly, Ireland haven’t lost in their 17 games since, but some of those lessons from Eden Park will certainly apply to Paris on Saturday where an even more deadly All Blacks side awaits.
As a player, I don’t think you can actively focus on not making mistakes. Instead, you need to be so razor-sharp on your detail that it becomes second nature, almost muscle memory. Scrum-half Aaron Smith is in that same elite bracket as Antoine Dupont and our own Jamison Gibson-Park when it comes to running support lines extending transition attacks which wreak havoc and ultimately lead to scores.
Ultimately, the looser the game, the more it suits New Zealand. As such, it’s important that when Ireland do knock a ball on or make an error, that they kill the ball and don’t let New Zealand immediately switch to transition. Joe will have a few revenge plays for us in order to create those chances, but will he have his revenge?
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