John Mitchell Column
Why Ireland are realistic World Cup winners
John Mitchell
March 4, 2015
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt sheds light on Jonny Sexton's injury
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Tournaments/Tours: Six Nations
Teams: Ireland

Since losing to England at Twickenham in 2014, Ireland have won 10 consecutive Test matches under the guidance of head coach Joe Schmidt. They have beaten the Springboks, Wallabies and England once and France twice. It's an outstanding run of results that will engender great self-belief heading into the World Cup.

Ireland will harbour realistic expectations of winning the tournament and, in my book, anything less than a first-ever appearance in the semi-finals would be a real disappointment.

Some people have accused Ireland of just kicking the leather off the ball. In my view, that's an unfair criticism. I'm sure they would like to build increased pressure with the ball in hand and gain more penetration on offence, but against England their strategy was to force the opposition into making mistakes and conceding penalties, and it worked a treat. I believe Schmidt's men should be commended for the way in which they executed their game plan.

 
Anything less than a semi-final appearance for Ireland at the Rugby World Cup would be a real disappointment
 

Ireland did equally well in testing England's defensive fold. They are adept at going one way and then bringing the ball back in, and Jonathan Sexton ensured they generated good line speed. They also didn't allow England to come forward at them, they turned them around with good tactical kicking, and often regained possession in the air. Yes, Ireland only scored one try, but how many tries are scored in a World Cup final? Not very many, is the answer.

I've been impressed with defences in this year's Six Nations. The last-man defence from the fullback, and sweeping by the winger and scrum-half is varied by some sides. Ireland are very effective in that area. Their defensive system can deal with just about every eventuality.

Furthermore, the tackle contact and sticking has improved at large. The inside defender is working harder, which gives the tackler a lot more confidence to go straight into the tackle, and the decision-making of the outside defender has developed. The fetcher is allowed to have a lower stance in the northern hemisphere than in the south, almost to the point where he is not supporting his feet, so it's a lot harder to clean at the ruck in the Six Nations.

Robbie Henshaw touches down for Ireland, Ireland v England, Six Nations, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, March 1, 2014
Robbie Henshaw scores Ireland's try against England © Getty Images
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Defence always plays a big role at the World Cup and any team that wants to win the tournament needs to be defensively resolute and disciplined - that's a given. That alone will not be enough, but the team who transitions quickly can use it as supply to their attack from turnover possession and loose balls collected. From there, it's up to the drivers to get the ball to the space and then it's the remaining protagonist's responsibility to build pressure.

Attack, on the other hand, is about possessing the ability to go to all areas of space. In my view, there are nine areas of space on the field that a team can exploit, and the reality is that defences can't defend all of those areas at once. It's up to drivers nine and 10 to get the team to that space and for team individuals to execute their skills in said space. It does help if your team mix possesses a number 12 and 15 that can play a pivot role in phase attack.

 
Yes, Ireland only scored one try, but how many tries are scored in a World Cup final? Not very many
 

Every Six Nations match is a must-win for the teams involved, and I believe that will prepare them well for the knockout stages of the 2015 World Cup. Moreover, the structure of the European Rugby Champions Cup - a tournament with a tough pool stage followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final - also plays a part in forging that mindset.

I don't think the southern hemisphere teams always regard Rugby Championship matches in the same way, and because Super Rugby is so elongated, teams have time to recover from a slow start. I would advise teams to treat every game in this year's Rugby Championship as a one-off Test in order to prepare for what's to come at the World Cup. When you have a knockout focus, the set-pieces, exit plays, defence, discipline and goal-kicking become vital.

Another notable difference between the two tournaments is that in the Six Nations, winning is all that matters. Meanwhile, the All Blacks, Wallabies and even the Springboks to some extent, like to win and play an entertaining style of rugby. Because of that attitude, I believe the southern hemisphere teams help accelerate the evolution of the game. The northern hemisphere sides then pick up on that when they play them over the autumn internationals.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
John Mitchell's explosive book, Mitch: The Real Story, is available through Amazon (Kindle edition) and Kalahari (print and eBook). Follow him on Twitter @mfactorcoaching

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