Lighting the touchpaper of performance differs in an individual context within the team dynamic but there are some weeks when it is a more straightforward process. One of those occasions is when New Zealand provide the opposition at the Aviva Stadium.
There is now more of a genuine rivalry between the countries, fuelled by a couple of Irish victories over the past five years. Occasional gallantry in defeat, one or two heartbreaking for the principals in green, has been replaced by an understanding of what it takes to beat New Zealand at Test level.
Despite Ireland’s heavy defeat in the 2019 World Cup quarter-final and the fact that the All Blacks are 11-point favourites with the bookmakers there is a quiet optimism, well more nervous energy probably amongst supporters, that Andy Farrell’s Ireland can muster a challenge of substance.
The manner of victory rather than result against Japan will have fuelled optimism albeit recognising that Saturday’s assignment will be light years ahead in terms of difficulty. The game is a sell-out and that sense of anticipation and expectation has made its way into the Ireland camp. The players are well aware of the appeal of this match across a wider sporting audience.
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Ireland secondrow James Ryan spoke about "excitement", how the week is a little bit different and that "you sort of feel that the whole country gets involved with it". It is the first of four games – Ireland travel to New Zealand next summer for a three-Test series – between the countries, a topic that was broached by the Irish players during the week.
Ryan acknowledges that it will be a positive benchmarking process for the group. He’s played against the All Blacks on a couple of occasions; for nine of the starting Irish team tomorrow it will be their first occasion to face New Zealand.
“We’ve just touched on the step up to play New Zealand. Obviously they’re up there as one of the top one or two in the world, so we’ve mentioned that everything we’ve done up to this point won’t be good enough with these guys. So everyone is aware that every part of our game has to step up.
“There were moments last week where we switched off, which we wouldn’t get away with this week. Everything has to be better. We can’t miss a moment, that’s kind of the mantra that we’ve touched on the last few weeks.”
The Irish team know their opponents will ruthlessly punish errors or any lapses in concentration and that they transition from defence into attack in a heartbeat. Coping with that suffocating pressure and intensity is an important attribute if the home side are to upset the odds.
Ryan stressed the need to react quickly to mistakes because any hesitation will be exploited and the need to keep playing right through the 80 minutes. Inviting the All Blacks on is a recipe for a pummelling. The courage that Ireland showed in the manner in which they attacked against Japan will need to be reprised against a better team.
Very tough
On a personal level he has thought less in the build-up to the match about Ireland’s victory in 2018 than he did with regard to the defeat in the World Cup quarter-final in Tokyo. When pressed to recall the game in Dublin he said: “It was a special night.
“I tend to think about the last time I played them more than the one in 2018 at this point but the more pressure you can put them under, the better. The World Cup is the pinnacle of the sport we play. Obviously losing in the manner we did was very tough to take so it takes time to go away.
“I think we are on a bit of a journey now, we have learned the lessons over the past few years and are trying to take them forward. Yeah, that’s why I tend to think of that game rather than the game in 2018 [as it’s more immediate and relevant].”
There is an element of going easy on the scare stories, where Ireland have to focus on what they want to produce rather than becoming preoccupied with how good their opponents are likely to be. Ryan said: “It is always about our performance, our standards. We have tried to make it about us this week.
“It is about our energy, how good we can be with ball in hand and [then] defensively off the back of that which is always a key when playing these guys. We need to play in the right areas of the pitch, we need to be good in our exits, how we kick the ball and how good our kick chase is when we do play, how we are connected [in defence]. We want to be, I suppose, ahead of the game.
“But when we do have the ball in hand we have to be in control because we might be putting together five or six good phases and if there is a turnover these guys could punish you straight away; we really have to be on it for 80 minutes. If you switch off with your body language or mentally for a split-second, that’s all they need to get into the game.”
It’s easy to surmise that the Ireland team will know a great deal more about where it stands, individually and collectively, come Saturday evening.
