Garry Ringrose: ‘All hands on deck’ in preparing for New Zealand clash

Nil Satis Nisi Optimum is the motto of the Kilmacud-based St James Athletic FC, once a home for Garry Ringrose before he was lured by a fancy playing strip, parental patronage and tiki-taka ways of the nearby Granada FC.

This biographical stub was provided as a result of a moment of soccer nuance in controlling a ball during Ireland’s victory over Scotland. Colour is enthusiastically embraced by a media who often operate in a beige environment.

Ringrose explained as he modestly looked to deflect from his footie prowess: “I used to play rugby on a Saturday for the school and then I didn’t tell the coaches I played soccer on Sunday. There was a team growing up, St James Athletic in Dublin and then in secondary school it was Granada, with a couple of mates. It was nothing serious, just a couple of mates, and a few of the dads were coaches.”

Ringrose went from centre stage to the wings in positional terms at the Stade de France last weekend in tandem with Jamison Gibson-Park following injuries to Mack Hansen and James Lowe during the Scotland game. He’s run there before in training, in matches, in his schooldays, so it wasn’t a massive upheaval but at the highest level of Test rugby, it’s no mere bagatelle.

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What enables players to adapt is that they have run there in training and are encouraged to be all over each other’s positional detail. Ringrose pointed to the fact that “to fully understand how something works you’ve got to be aware of what other people are doing around you, as well as your own role.

“Even if you haven’t gotten reps [repetitions] in a certain position during the week, the expectation of understanding that we have of each other helps too.”

Contextualising the importance of Saturday’s match is slightly loaded when asked whether it is the biggest game in the history of Irish rugby. There is probably no right answer, which is the pathway down which Ringrose ventured. “It’s a big question. I don’t want to say ‘no’ because I’m well aware of what’s at stake.

“I guess how we’d be looking at it is that it’s an opportunity to do something that no other Irish team has done. Having said that, we can’t control the result or the outcome, but what we can control is how well we prepare.

“Off the back of the win last week, when we knew who we were facing, it was pretty much from Sunday, all hands on deck preparing as best we can because against a side of New Zealand’s quality, that’s what it takes, so I’m not sure if that answers your question but that is certainly what is motivating us; it’s an opportunity.”

Joe Schmidt gave Ringrose his Ireland debut against Canada at the Aviva Stadium in 2016 – the centre had been an unused replacement against the All Blacks in Soldier Field, Chicago, the previous week – so he is well versed with the man who taken an increasingly conspicuous role with New Zealand over the past year.

Ringrose was asked what he had noticed. “Yeah, I think they’ve probably levelled up a bit in their attack. I’m sure it’s Joe and a couple of other coaches there. From my own experience with him, knowing the quality of coaching that he delivers, that would be the answer, that they’ve definitely improved and gotten better with their ability to take on the line.

“Some of the tight shapes they’ve run, their kicking game, these are things that New Zealand have always been good at but if you look over the past four games, they’ve really reinforced that.”

Ringrose will be opposed by Rieko Ioane, quick and powerful, an opponent for whom he has great respect. “I guess some of the specifics would be Rieko, his ability, his footwork on the line, his speed, his skills in contact, being able to keep the ball alive. They’d be some to start in terms of his quality.

“Then you’ve the Barretts as well, who are exceptional readers of the game. They’ve all played multiple positions across the backline which is a testament to their ability, and I haven’t even started talking about the wingers so it’s really being alert for everything. It’s almost mental fitness as opposed to physical fitness.”

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The players have spoken about being able to meet challenges, where Andy Farrell has tested their mettle, their temperament, their capacity to react to adverse circumstances. Some trace the genesis to last year’s summer tour to New Zealand.

Ringrose countered: “Maybe it’s not just the tour of New Zealand but being challenged across the Six Nations and the November series, you always have to be adaptable from an individual perspective, in-game, whether it’s Josh van der Flier throwing in the lineout or Jamison [Gibson-Park] playing on the wing.

“Then some of the logistics stuff, moving hotels week on week, maybe training ground facilities varying week on week, stuff like that, that Faz would always have a no-excuse mentality and a level of expectation on us to deliver when we’re training and preparing regardless of any circumstances around us.

“That’s been something that’s been consistent for whatever, four years, so it all does kind of help when there’s a bit of movement, when you’re on the bus, off the bus, in different hotels, because it’s been reinforced over the last four years.”

As Ringrose understands Nil Satis Nisi Optimum – only the best is good enough.