Rugby Under-21 World Cup: It's not an exaggeration to suggest Ireland's task against New Zealand tomorrow is Herculean writes John O'Sullivan
The "Baby Blacks" boast nine players who have played Super 12, have scored 31 tries in the tournament, beat Six Nations Grand Slam champions England 42-13 and are led by centre Ben Atiga, who was capped during last season's World Cup in Australia.
They are the defending champions and to date in this competition a team apart. Their embossed credentials make them overwhelming favourites; then again they haven't played Ireland. Mark McDermott's charges have overachieved in the minds of others to reach the final but not by their own reckoning.
Before the semi-final victory over Australia, it would have been understandable had the team harboured a certain satisfaction about becoming the first Irish side to get out of the pool stage in this tournament. Those are not the parameters by which this group of men judge themselves.
The intensity, the focus, the belief in one another saw them produce a tour de force against Australia. Once the initial throes of celebration had disappeared, the Irish squad filtered quietly from the ground. Since last Wednesday the focus has been not on what they have achieved but what they can, or will.
They don't subscribe to the perception that victory in tomorrow's final is unattainable. The performance of the pack against Australia, particularly in the second half, was awesome. It invoked a relentless pressure that kept their opponents pinned into their own half, save for the odd cameo. The surprising aspect of their victory was that the margin wasn't greater.
Therein lies one of the key areas tomorrow: Ireland must take every opportunity, must be ruthless and precise when the chances are created. New Zealand know the clash of the packs will be pivotal. The Kiwis possess the more potent back line and in centre Luke McAllister a player of huge ability.
He, and not Atiga, is the focal point of their attacking gambits, and beautifully exploits those around him. He is also a very accomplished place-kicker. Outhalf Stephen Donald is a shrewd tactician while wings Rudi Wulf and Teo Koonwaiyou are quick and direct.
Up front their talisman is number eight and the tournament's leading try scorer Jerome Kaino (five). He provides a bruising presence whether with or without the ball, and is the fulcrum along with hard running, try-scoring prop Ben Franks in a physically powerful New Zealand pack. The South Africans demonstrated in the semi-final that the Kiwi scrum and lineout can be badgered into error.
If Ireland are to thrive they will have to deny the New Zealanders the chance to put pace on the game, must slow down their ruck ball and engage in a war of attrition. David Gannon has led the Irish pack brilliantly and his fellow forwards have responded to his promptings but one suspects it is the back-row trio of Brendan O'Connor, David O'Brien and Jamie Heaslip that must impact most on the game.
They'll have to try to slow the ball and batten down the fringes in defence and carry possession prodigiously. Gareth Steenson must orchestrate a blemish-free kicking game but so too do Ireland carry the responsibility to attack out wide or risk being predictable.
They stunned the Australians with two beautifully worked tries and those are patterns they will have to adopt again. Tomorrow is about concentration and precision, belief and guts and that little slice of good fortune. They'll need to raise the collective and individual performances a couple of notches but that is what they have done to date.
This team doesn't know how to lose and tomorrow they'll be loath to develop that habit. Hercules managed to complete every task he was assigned; Ireland could follow his example.
PATHS TO THE FINAL: Ireland - beat Tonga 43-5; beat Argentina 26-22; beat France 27-19; beat Australia 26-13. New Zealand - beat England 42-13; beat Russia 110-3; beat South Africa 49-27; beat South Africa (semi-final) 26-11.
LEADING POINTS SCORER: Ireland - Gareth Steenson 55. New Zealand - Stephen Donald 42.
LEADING TRY SCORERS: Ireland - Richard Lane 3. New Zealand - Jerome Kaino 5.
IRELAND: A Finn (Dolphin); R Lane (UCC), J Hearty (Blackrock), G Telford (Dungannon), P McKenzie (Loughborough University); G Steenson (QUB), T O'Leary (Cork Constitution); J Wickham (Clontarf), D Fogarty (Cork Constitution), D Fitzpatrick (Belfast Harlequins); D Gannon (Blackrock, capt), S O'Connor (Cork Constitution); B O'Connor (Cork Constitution), J Heaslip (Dublin University), D O'Brien (Old Belvedere).
NEW ZEALAND (probable): G Horton; T Koonwaiyou, B Atiga (capt), L McAllister, R Wulf; S Donald, T Morland; B Franks, J Pareanga, J Afoa; C Clarke, J Ryan; G Naouopu, J Kaino, J Poff.
