Rugby World Cup
Team of the Rugby World Cup Quarter-Finals
We are down to the final four of this year’s Rugby World Cup but we are taking a look at who were this weekend’s best players during the quarter-finals
Over the weekend we were treated to four outstanding games in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals in Japan with a host of players standing out.
England, New Zealand, Wales and South Africa progressed to the semi-finals but who has made our team of the quarter-finals.
Check out our starting XV below with some tough decisions in certain positions.
Backs:
15) Beauden Barrett – There was no need to think twice about who was taking this jersey. Barrett was outstanding as the All Blacks ran riot. Ireland tested him with a couple of high-balls early on and found no joy as he dealt with everything. As they game wore on he seemed to get better and better. His kicks over the top, his assist for brother Jordie’s try and his own try showed how deadly he is in open play. England will have to keep the game tight this weekend because if they don’t he will cause all sorts of problems.
14) Jonny May – On his 50th cap he scored two tries as his side run-away with the game in the second-half against the Wallabies. Started on the left-wing but we had to fit him in due to how clinical he was. His upcoming battle with Sevu Reece will be fascinating.
13) Virimi Vakatawa – Should have ended the game on the winning side as he was that good. Scored a try and his offloading game was unbelievable. Every time he touched the ball he looked dangerous and made metres. Will rue the red-card his side received as he put in a massive individual performance.
12) Gael Fickou – Again like Vakatawa was seriously impressive in defeat. Looked lightening quick as he has all tournament and if his side had their full compliment you would not have been surprised to see him cause Wales more problems. Samu Kerevi and Anton Lienert-Brown were impressive as always but Fickou just pipped them.
11) Makazole Mapimpi – Before we talk about Mapimpi we have to give a shoutout to Marika Koroibete as he was sensational during Australia’s loss and if not for the Springbok he would be in the team. However, Mapimpi just continues to get better and better! Two tries on the day and five in two games against the Japanese. His pace and upper-body strength are so impressive. Defensively he seems to be solid and is clinical in attack. Wales will need to watch out!
10) Owen Farrell – This could have gone to Romain Ntamack, but injury meant he only played one half. That half was incredible though and if he had have been on for the full 80 who knows how things would have ended. Although it is Farrell who is our fly-half. His kicking was perfect, his passing was crisp and even when shifted back to the centre he looked like causing the Wallabies major issues. England will need another strong showing from their captain if they are to stand a chance against New Zealand.
9) Faf de Klerk – The little scrum-half was just everywhere. A try and a try assist as well as running the show for his side against an energetic Japanese outfit. Definitely staking his claim to be called the best No 9 in the world. Have to mention Antoine Dupont and Aaron Smith though as both shone brightly for their teams. Are those three the top three in their position on the planet?
Forwards:
1) Jefferson Poirot – Put in a mighty shift in the front-row, staying on for almost the full game and putting in every effort to help his team hold onto their narrow lead with less men on the pitch. Has been brilliant to watch all tournament.
2) Tolu Latu – Another man who lost but hard to leave out. Like Poirot he stayed on longer than most would in his position but never stopped causing England problems with his ball carrying. His set-piece work was on-point and on an individual note he should be proud.
3) Jiwon Koo – Completing our front-row is again a man who’s side lost but against a massive Springboks pack he produced a huge performance. All competition his team out-did themselves and once again he did so here.
4) Brodie Retallick – Returning to the starting line-up and if we are honest you wouldn’t have noticed he had only played 30 minutes of rugby since July. Dominated the collisions and was fantastic at the set-piece. His seamless return proves how good he is. He is a vital component to this New Zealand team and his recovery has put them back in the driving seat.
5) Maro Itoje – He has had an unbelievable tournament so far and that continued on Saturday. His physicality is just something to behold at the highest level of the game and that is why we moved him to five as we had to get him into the team. His battle with Retallick this weekend will be key to who wins the match.
6) Michael Leitch – He might have lost but he has led his Japanese side to history and was immense yesterday. As we expected he had to be physical and didn’t shy away against the Boks powerhouses but it was his handling skills that caught the eye also as he produced a couple of offloads that Sonny Bill Williams would have been proud of. What a player and leader!
7) Tom Curry – Is the second of three players to have worn the number six jersey for their side in our back-row but he was just too good to leave out. Michael Hooper was outstanding but for determination and smacking tackles Curry had to be in. At 21 he has stepped up on the biggest stage of all and not looked out of place. The future looks bright and he will be tested to the max in the semi-final against some of the best back-rowers in the world once more.
8) Ardie Savea – Yes he also played at six, but even at scrums he went to No 8 such is his versatility and quality with ball in hand. Ireland couldn’t cope with him all game. With every game he turns it up a notch and seems to be faster, stronger and more skilful. One of the best in the business and will relish the chance to face a back-row like England’s this weekend.
6 Nations
Farrell Names Ireland Team To Face Scotland In Paris
Head Coach Andy Farrell has named his Ireland Match Day Squad to face Scotland in Saturday’s final Rugby World Cup Pool B clash in Paris (Kick-off 9pm local time/8pm Irish time).
Following wins over Romania, Tonga and South Africa, Ireland conclude their Pool campaign against Gregor Townsend‘s side at Stade de France on Saturday night.
Peter O’Mahony is set to win his 100th cap for Ireland as he starts in the back row, with the 34-year-old in line to become just the 10th Irish player to reach the landmark.
Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen and James Lowe start in an unchanged Ireland back three, with Garry Ringrose and Bundee Aki continuing in the midfield. Captain Johnny Sexton partners Jamison Gibson-Park once again in the half-backs.
Up front, Andrew Porter and Tadhg Furlong pack down either side of Dan Sheehan, with Tadhg Beirne and Iain Henderson named in the second row. O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris complete the starting XV.
The fit-again Jack Conan is in line for his first appearance of Rugby World Cup 2023 as he’s named on the replacements bench, joining forwards Ronan Kelleher, David Kilcoyne, Finlay Bealham and James Ryan, while Conor Murray, Jack Crowley and Stuart McCloskey provide the backline reinforcements.
Robbie Henshaw has been sidelined with a hamstring injury and a further assessment will be made early next week.
Saturday’s match is live on Virgin Media One in the Republic of Ireland and ITV1 in the United Kingdom.
Ireland Team & Replacements (v Scotland, Rugby World Cup, Pool B, Saturday October 7, Stade de France, 8pm Irish time)
15. Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD)(34)
14. Mack Hansen (Connacht/Corinthians)(19)
13. Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD)(55)
12. Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians)(50)
11. James Lowe (Leinster)(24)
10. Johnny Sexton (Leinster/St Mary’s College) (captain) (116)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)(28)
1. Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD)(57)
2. Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Lansdowne)(19)
3. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf)(70)
4. Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne)(44)
5. Iain Henderson (Ulster/Academy)(77)
6. Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution)(99)
7. Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD)(55)
8. Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College)(34)
Replacements:
16. Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Lansdowne)(24)
17. David Kilcoyne (Munster/UL Bohemians)(54)
18. Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers)(34)
19. James Ryan (Leinster/UCD)(58)
20. Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere)(39)
21. Conor Murray Munster/Garryowen)(110)
22. Jack Crowley (Munster/Cork Constitution)(8)
23. Stuart McCloskey (Ulster/Bangor)(14).
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
6 Nations
Henshaw: Our Defence Was Good, But We Can Go Up Another Level
Entering match week four of the Rugby World Cup, Robbie Henshaw is feeling fully charged and refreshed after a ‘nice and chilled’ few days in Paris during the Ireland’s squad down time.
The picture has changed in Pool B since Ireland’s 13-10 win over reigning champions South Africa. The Springboks are top of the table on 15 points following their 49-18 defeat of Tonga, with Scotland, as expected, coming right back into contention with back-to-back bonus point victories.
Unbeaten Ireland still have their destiny very much in their own hands, sitting on 14 points with the Scots on 10, but it does mean that Saturday night’s Celtic derby at the Stade de France is effectively a shootout for the quarter-finals.
Ireland have dominated this fixture in recent seasons with eight straight wins, and have won twelve of the last 13 meetings. However, you write off a Scottish team at your peril, and Henshaw knows exactly the type of challenge they will pose.
“Every time we play Scotland we know they’re going to come for us,” he said, speaking at the team base in Tours. “Now we can see what it means to them and what they want to chase, and what we want to chase as well in terms of getting those four (pool) wins.
“They’re going to come and have a go like they always do, through Finn Russell and getting the ball to the width. They’ll have a plan and we’ll just need to make sure we’re rock solid and we attack it.”
Henshaw got another half-an-hour of game-time under his belt against South Africa, coming on during Garry Ringrose’s first half HIA and then as a permanent replacement just past the hour mark.
The Athlone man has played in four of Ireland’s last five matches, including starts against Italy and Samoa in the lead up to the World Cup. If he gets an opportunity to feature this weekend, he readily accepts that he has to make the most of it given the form of the other centres.
Bundee (Aki) has been brilliant. His body is in great shape, he is flying fit, as has Garry. The lads’ performances have been consistent.
“Bundee has been flying in terms of getting tries. He’s been letting us know he’s near the top of the try scorers’ list (with four tries so far), which we’ve been having a laugh about!
“They’ve been outstanding. Whenever I get a chance to come in, it’s making sure I put my best foot forward and whenever I come off the bench, put in a good performance.”
As well as Henshaw, Ulster’s Stuart McCloskey, who is in buoyant mood after the birth of his second son, is pressing to be involved and make his World Cup debut, as is the versatile Jimmy O’Brien, who played at centre against the ‘Boks last November.
Ireland’s strength in depth in midfield – and clean bill of health – is a huge asset at this stage of the tournament, especially if the starting pair for Saturday continue to produce the sort of form that Aki and Ringrose have across the opening three rounds.
“There’s always in the past – Six Nations, Novembers – there’s always been one of us (centres) in or out due to injury or whatever,” acknowledged Henshaw, who scored his eighth Test try against Scotland in March 2021.
“Hopefully we can keep us all fit. But the quality we have, we’ve great strength in depth in those positions, even the likes of ‘Earlsie’ (Keith Earls) being able to come in at 13 and Jimmy, the depth we have here is key for playing in a World Cup because anything can happen.”
The 30-year-old Leinster star admitted it was ‘all hands on deck’ when he was initially sprung from the bench against South Africa. It was his chop tackle on Pieter-Steph du Toit that allowed James Lowe to get in for a turnover at a crucial stage.
Keeping Jacques Nienaber’s men to just one try – and eight points in all – was a huge factor in the overall outcome. That was also the case when Ireland beat Scotland in the 2022 and 2023 Six Nations, winning 26-5 in Dublin and 22-7 in Edinburgh respectively.
As things stand, Ireland have the third best defensive record across the pools, conceding 32 points so far compared to host nation France’s 25 and England’s 22. Maintaining those standards will be vital against Scotland in such a high-stakes encounter.
“We had a good look at what we did against South Africa. I think our defence, we showed some great pictures in defence but we know we can go (up) another level,” insisted Henshaw.
“Definitely in attack, we took some steps forward but we left some opportunities out there as well. Looking at everything from our set-piece lineout, how can we get better there? In the first few moments we missed a few lineouts and that let South Africa off the hook a bit.
“Definitely we’ll break down bits like that and make sure we learn from it and we grow.”
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
6 Nations
Sexton ‘Very Proud’ Of Record, But Win Was More Important
Head coach Andy Farrell said it was ‘so fitting’ that Jonathan Sexton broke Ronan O’Gara’s record with a memorable try under the posts to become Ireland’s all-time top points scorer.
O’Gara (1083 points) leapfrogged David Humphreys (560) at the top of the scoring charts back in February 2006, and now the mantle has passed to another talismanic number 10. Sexton’s try and 11 points from the tee against Tonga took his career haul for Ireland to 1090.
Adding in his 2013 try for the British & Irish Lions against Australia, he has moved above Welsh legend Neil Jenkins into fourth place on the list of highest scorers in international rugby history.
Sexton claimed the Irish record in style with a cleverly-worked 37th-minute score that secured Ireland’s second bonus point of this Rugby World Cup. The rush of his team-mates to congratulate and engulf him behind the posts spoke volumes.
“I was just happy to score the try,” admitted the Ireland captain, modest as ever. “I think one of the lads said it to me (about breaking the record) under the posts. I actually thought I might have got it on the kick before.
Look, it’s something when you retire you can look back on and be very proud of. I think my little boy (Luca) will be over the moon. He was talking about it during the week.
“It probably means more to him! He’ll chase it down now, and so will the other 10s. It’s there to be broken now and I’m sure some young guys will be eyeing it up.
“I’m very proud to do it, but tonight it was more important getting the win and moving on to what is such a massive game (against South Africa) this coming week.”
Sexton has started France 2023 in impressive form despite his lack of recent game-time. He has racked up three tries and 40 points in all across the first two rounds, with only England’s George Ford (41) ahead of him.
The St. Mary’s College clubman has already topped his tallies from previous World Cups – 21 points in 2011, 31 points in 2015, and 26 points in 2019 – but is acutely aware that scoring opportunities will be much more difficult to come by against the Springboks.
Asked about the minutes he had gotten under his belt and the drive to get back to peak form, he admitted: “The proof will be next Saturday if I’m in good form. You’ve got to go do it in the games. There’s no point saying you’re feeling good or whatever.
“I just take it day by day, make sure I recover well, turn up to training Monday, Tuesday, and try and help put the plan in place to take on South Africa.
“They’ve hit a great vein of form and it’s going to be a huge challenge for us, but one that we are really excited about. Hopefully we’ll be ready for it.”
The fine-tuning of the Irish lineout had the desired effect with 21 wins and just two losses on their own throw. They also stole two of their opponents’ throws, while the scrum was also rock solid against a mammoth Tongan front row.
The pack put in a big collective shift, particularly Tadhg Beirne and Josh van der Flier, who both played the full 80 minutes, and Peter O’Mahony (75) and Tadhg Furlong (71) were not far behind. Having been replaced, tighthead Furlong had to return to the pitch due to Finlay Bealham’s HIA.
Sexton played the first half in Nantes before Ross Byrne came on at out-half for his first World Cup appearance. The Ireland skipper praised the forwards for ensuring that ‘the lineout was excellent, the scrum as well’.
“We got a lot of territory and field position from the set piece. The forwards laid the platform and we got a couple of nice tries in both halves off first or second phase. Very pleased with that.”
It has been a real positive to see the Irish attack put away a good chunk of their chances, whether it is through Mack Hansen’s brilliant sidestep and burst of pace, or that lung-busting support run from Beirne that saw him score right at the death against Romania.
Bundee Aki (4 tries), Beirne and Sexton (3 each) have been regular try scorers, with the latter saying: “We’ve trained incredibly hard all summer, so we’re fit enough and able to get ourselves into positions to score tries and to put the opposition under pressure.
“We’ve done that well at times over the first two weeks. There was plenty of stuff that we’ll look back on early in the game where we’re going to need to be more accurate and clinical next week.”
Meanwhile, Farrell (pictured above with Tonga’s Chris Boyd) was pleased with how his side turned their pressure into points on a humid night. They went past the half-century mark with four tries during the closing 22 minutes.
They also got four more World Cup debutants (Byrne, Bealham, Ryan Baird and Craig Casey) on the pitch, and Dave Kilcoyne and Robbie Henshaw both returned from injury.
Farrell says they are ‘building nicely’ on the back of their eight-try display in Nantes, benefitting from ‘getting a little bit of continuity, getting more game-time, getting the job done and getting people off at the right time’.
He was delighted to see Sexton add another milestone achievement to his collection. Apart from his scoring prowess, he says the thing that stands out about his captain is ‘how he makes people feel and how he leads the team, and he’s one of the best in the world at that’.
Speaking about the try which saw the Dubliner break O’Gara’s longstanding record, the Wigan man commented: “He’d nine points and equalled the record before he scored the try, hadn’t he? You just knew when we got held up, and we were set to play that play. It’s something that we’d obviously practised during the week.
“He knows which ones to follow! He followed Conor (Murray) really well, and it’s so fitting that he broke the record with a try like that.
“The record’s fantastic but he’d say that’s his job. But it takes some doing. To us, as a leader and as a player, he’s a lot more than a points-scoring machine.
“How he prepares his team and gets them up for absolutely every game selflessly is more important to, I would think, him and certainly to us.”
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
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