Not much happening next weekend then. Just the number one side in the world against the number two and reigning world champions. Given the potential prize at stake for winning Pool B – while Scotland are still in the mix – next Saturday’s huge meeting with South Africa in the Stade de France looks like being a defining week in Ireland’s 2023 World Cup campaign, and quite probably a make-or-break one for Jack Conan as well.
The Leinster number eight hasn’t played since suffering a torn ligament in his foot before half-time in Ireland’s opening warm-up match against Italy, just over six weeks ago, when replaced by Cian Prendergast in the 36th minute.
Conan was back running at the squad’s base in the Complexe de la Chambrarie in Tours last week, which was interpreted as a “very positive” signal for the player according to team manager Mick Kearney. Most likely though, Conan needs to return to full training this week and be an option for the South African game if he is to participate in this World Cup.
Conan was due to start the second pool game against Japan four years ago after playing the last hour of the win over Scotland, but was a late withdrawal after a team-mate stood on his foot in training, so aggravating an existing problem.
He watched Ireland’s defeat in the stands with a moon boot protecting his injury, before flying home the next day. Now 31, he spoke before the Italian game of this most likely being his last chance on the World Cup stage. It is a measure of Conan’s importance to the team and especially his form in the Grand Slam, that he has been given every chance until this week to prove his wellbeing.
But if Conan can train fully this week, then he would become a viable option against the Springboks.
“The nice thing about Jack is Jack is a fantastic footballer and a good athlete as well,” said Irish attack coach Mike Catt. “Whether he’s missed a little bit or not is irrelevant for him, I think he’s got a lot in the tank in terms of his fitness and ability and when he comes back into it, I think it will be pretty seamless too.”
Ireland move on to their pivotal third game with increased momentum and cohesion after Saturday’s ruthless 59-16 win over Tonga. The squad returned by TGV to their base in Tours from another hot, sunny day in Nantes under the usual heavy security presence, and with a surprisingly large number of green-clad well wishers outside the Gare de Nantes cheering them on their way.
The Irish management may not issue a squad update until Tuesday, and speaking to the media on Sunday morning Catt apologised for not being unable to do so with specific regard to Finlay Bealham, who went off for an HIA against Tonga and did not return.
But he said the management were “confident” that Dan Sheehan will be fit for selection this week after recovering from a similar injury to Conan’s in the warm-up win over England.
Ireland lead Pool B in its formative stages with two bonus-point wins, 20 tries scored and a healthy points difference of plus 117. But South Africa backed up their opening 18-3 strangulation of Scotland with a facile 76-0 bonus-point win over Romania on Sunday in Bordeaux, their much-changed side securing a bonus point within the first 12 minutes – a World Cup record.
After the game, and to no one’s great surprise, least of all the Irish management, the Springboks called up World Cup-winning outhalf Handre Pollard, to fill the vacancy created by hooker Malcolm Marx, who was ruled out of the tournament earlier this week due to a knee injury.
The inclusion of Pollard, who returned to the field on Friday for Leicester after a calf injury ruled him out of contention for selection for the World Cup squad, brings the full complement of players in the team back to 33.
With doubts also over the fitness of Eben Etzebeth, Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber explained the decision to call up Pollard rather than a forward.
“We are confident with the cover we have at hooker with Bongi Mbonambi [who played the 80 minutes against Romania] and Deon Fourie, and Marco van Staden has been slotting in the position since our alignment camps in February, so we opted to call up Handre, who has been in our system for years and who was a member of our team in 2019 when we won the World Cup.”
The Boks’ shutout victory over the Pool B minnows mean they have conceded three points in two games, and just two tries in their last eight World Cup games.
It’s been noticeable how many teams have played with an aggressive, outside-in defence. Tonga followed suit on Saturday night, and Ireland unlocked them by overloading the inside channels with passes back inside. But South Africa-born Catt, a World Cup winner with England, knows that the Boks are the best at this type of defence.
“Yeah, South Africa have always been very aggressive in their defence and it’s worked very, very well for them. It definitely puts your skill set under pressure and it’s something we’ve obviously been working on over the last couple of years,” said the Irish attack coach.
“But a lot more teams are becoming a lot tighter and coming with a lot more line speed. There’s still space around, you’ve just got to find it in different ways.”
At face value, Ireland need to scale the heights achieved in the second and third Tests in New Zealand, and the win over France last February, not to mention the victory against South Africa last November.
“I thought last night’s performance was very good against a big, physical side and again that big physical side is coming on the weekend,” said Catt.
“The line speed that they bring in terms of their defence is very different to what South Africa will bring, but listen South Africa are a world-class side and have an amazing team, a lot of them will be rested today [against Romania] as well so they will have had a sort of two-week build-up towards our game.
“But yeah, that’s why we play the game, that’s why we wanted to play these games in big competitions and I think we’ve put ourselves in a good position to be competitive in these positions.”
