Joe Schmidt says he will be happy even if Ireland scrape a narrow and unconvincing win against an Italy side “fighting for their lives” at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday . And, while everyone else is dismissing the Italians’ chances after their flighty opening weekend defeat by France and surprisingly close win over Canada, Schmidt expects their captain Sergio Parisse’s return to add steel and spice to the encounter.
“I’d be delighted to get the result,” said Ireland’s coach. “It’s probably not often I say that. But if I’m talking post-game and we’ve had a two-point win I’d be delighted. Italy are very hard to break down and the longer you’ve got the ball, the less likely you are to score. Their defensive ethic, and it probably reminds me of Perpignan when Jacques [Brunel] was there as well, they were intolerably difficult to break down and score against. And we know what they are capable of producing, especially with Parisse at the helm.”
In case his audience had any doubts, Schmidt calmly spelt out the dangers Italy could pose. “We’ll get that very aggressive, pro-active line speed that makes it difficult to play against them,” he said. “They’ll go after the set piece and try to make the lineout a buffeting contest. They’ll try to get on the front foot at scrum time and there are a couple of areas that they’ll identify as strengths for us that, if they can unsettle us, they’ll potentially put us under pressure.”
But after expertly building Italy up Schmidt made it clear he expected his side adroitly to knock them down. “The players are well prepared and there is a real freshness and energy about them,” he said, with a smile. “Hopefully we can combine that with an aggressive attitude because we can’t afford to be passive. The players expect it will be a very physical match.”
“It may end up being one of those sorts of attritional affairs in the first 40 minutes. And then, hopefully, as the game accelerates through the last quarter we can maybe get away. But it’s probably easier said than done when a team are fighting for their lives. They know that, if they lose, their tournament is pretty much over.”
Schmidt’s team is largely as expected, with Robbie Henshaw, who is making his first World Cup start after a hamstring injury, partnering Keith Earls in a new-look midfield. Dave Kearney switches to the left wing while Tommy Bowe again starts on the right after two tries in the 44-10 victory over Romania.
Simon Zebo starts at full-back in place of Rob Kearney, who is still recovering from a hip injury, while Jared Payne, who has a bruised foot, also misses out. However, Schmidt expects both men to be fit for the France game.
Schmidt also refused to be drawn on criticisms of Payne by the TV3 analyst and former Scotland coach Matt Williams, who said the New Zealand-born centre made “really poor decisions” in the 44-10 win over Romania last weekend. But he did notably praise his midfield, saying: “I think they’ve been a real strength for us. Their distribution has allowed us to play along the edges and I think we’ve played pretty expansively a lot of the time.”
Jonny Sexton, who returns at fly-half after missing the Romania match, was effusive about Payne’s qualities, calling him “ a great communicator”.
“It’s hard to talk about a team-mate without putting another one down,” he added, “but he’s made my job easier on the outside with good passing and decisions. He has an excellent kicking game but at the same time Keith [Earls] will bring something totally different. He’s in great form and electric in training.”
Sexton’s and Schmidt’s relaxed manner was reflected by everyone in the Ireland camp – unsurprising given their World Cup campaign has proceeded without a bump or kink so far. But Schmidt knows that a slight lessening of the intensity against Italy could change everything.
“It might not be fatal if we didn’t win on Sunday but it would be a very serious blow,” he warned. “It would make the following week against France a massive pressure cooker that we could do without.” Right now, though, Ireland believe they are simmering nicely to the boil.
