Ireland will have considerably bigger hurdles than Romania at this Rugby World Cup, but former Ireland international Craig Gilroy has praised the relentless nature of Ireland’s 12-try, 80-point romp over Romania in the baking heat of Bordeaux on Saturday afternoon.
The former Ulster winger, who won ten caps and scored five tries for Ireland, believes the nature of Saturday’s record World Cup win for the men in green was a significant statement of intent especially as Ireland have not always started with a bang on the biggest stage.
“I thought it was a really impressive performance from Ireland and they are off to a flying start. I think Andy Farrell will be pleased with a lot of what he saw in terms of how relentless they were, and it gives them something to build on as they prepare for tougher games as the tournament goes on.” Gilroy said.
“It was a good game to start with because it gave some guys the chance to get vital minutes under their belt including Johnny Sexton who obviously missed the warm-up games. They will grow in confidence, and it has given them momentum and a really positive start to the tournament.”
“They demonstrated a superb mentality to stay focused throughout the whole match and put 80 points on an international side. It can sometimes be easy to switch off and stray a little bit from your game plan when the tries are coming easy, but I thought Ireland had laser focus and kept playing the way they know they can play despite the score line.”
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Although Peter O'Mahony won the man of the match award, Gilroy reserved special praise for Bundee Aki who looks in career-best form and had a field day against the Romanians, scoring two tries.
“I thought the offloading game was brilliant – the ability of their carriers to free their hands in the tackle and a team-mate always being on their shoulder running a support line. There were a variety of options presenting themselves to each and every ball carrier.
“I thought Bundee Aki in particular had a super game, fending off tackle attempts with ease and Romania couldn’t find a way to stop him. He caused their defence real issues and had a hand in most of the early tries.”
It will be a stiffer test next week against Pool B opponents Tonga who await Ireland in Nantes. Unless something goes drastically wrong, an upset seems unlikely given Tonga have only won matches this year against Australia ‘A’ and Canada, but Gilroy is looking forward to seeing some familiar faces provide quality opposition for Ireland as they gear up for games at the business end of the group against Scotland and South Africa.
“I’m really excited to see the Tonga match and I really hope to see my old Ulster team-mate Charles Piutau lining out – he’s such a quality player. They have some very dangerous backs in there – the likes of George Moala the Clermont centre and Pita Ahki – another skilful centre who plays for Toulouse.
“I still think Ireland should win comfortably enough but Tonga definitely pose a threat and should not be underestimated. In the Tonga game they will be looking to tweak and prepare for huge games against Scotland and South Africa while also doing their best to avoid any significant injuries.”
Not surprisingly, when discussing any potential changes for the Tonga game, Gilroy is rooting for further game time for his former team-mate and fellow Bangor native, Stuart McCloskey.
“I think there will be a few changes and I’d love to see Stu McCloskey get a run. He brings a lot – he’s physical but can play ball as well. He gets his arms free in the tackle and is a great distributor as well as being super in defence.
“I also think Mack Hansen might start ahead of Keith Earls. It will be a good chance for Ireland to gear up for the business end of the group and for guys to put their hand up for selection because there is still plenty of competition in that squad.”
