Lucky enough to be given another chance, in the words of Andy Farrell, Ireland will be seeking redemption against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night (kick-off 8.10pm) and captain Caelan Doris admitted that starts with him.
While he accepted there is “pressure to perform” on this team now after last week’s 23-13 loss to New Zealand, Doris said several aspects of last week’s display were fixable, not least that costly 13-5 penalty count.
“Discipline for this team has been a strength. I think we average around 10 penalties or less. We were up at 13 and they came at crucial moments in the game. We’d five in a row after we’d scored in the second half and they kicked nine points from that and as we were getting momentum back it completely turned back towards them.
The Felipe Contepomi interview
“When you are playing on the edge, you are always going to give away a few but a lot of them were avoidable ones so there was disappointment around that. But there was also a feeling that there’s more in us, in terms of intent and making it happen a little bit as individuals.
“I definitely felt that myself, there’s more in me and I was a little bit disappointed with the lack of impact on the game and not as many involvements as I would have liked. I know a few guys who were like that and we’ve another chance tomorrow.”
The sense of frustration and disappointment lingered into Sunday and Monday, Doris admitted, but he maintained that after a good week’s training there is a renewed sense of excitement within the squad.
“We know that Argentina are a proper team and a proper Test. They’ve shown that with some of their wins over the year and their development under Felipe (Contepomi). They’ve obviously been a top-class team for the last number of years, being in three of the last four World Cup semi-finals,” noted Doris, which, of course, is three more than Ireland have ever made.
“But I think they’ve gone up to another level under Felipe so we’re definitely aware that it’s going to be a big challenge and there’s also excitement at being back in the Aviva to get back to ourselves because we felt we weren’t ourselves last Friday.”
While all of the starting XV from the New Zealand game bar Bundee Aki have been afforded another opportunity, Farrell has freshened up the bench with an infusion of younger players, notably the uncapped Sam Prendergast. Much is anticipated of Prendergast, and the standout player from the Ireland Under-20s team that won a Grand Slam and reached a World Cup final two years ago has been catching the eye of team-mates as much as supporters.
“He’s an unbelievable player,” said Doris. “Some of the things he does in training, it’s pretty unique. He’s probably one of the most skilful guys I’ve come across. He can pull a rabbit out of a hat but he’s also calmer and making the right decisions a little bit now and playing what’s in front of him and not always trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat, even though he’s got that capability.
“He’s finding the balance there in terms of controlling a game, making the right decisions, bringing the best out of other people but also capable of a bit of magic. The message to him has been be himself and do his thing during the week and I’m excited to see what he does tomorrow.
Much has been made of the surprisingly flat atmosphere for the All Blacks’ game but Doris was both diplomatic and correct when suggesting this was in response to the flat Irish performance.
“I think we’ve had some unbelievable atmospheres with the fans and they make such a difference for us. The nature of the game on Friday – quite stop start, a lot of scrums, and maybe us chasing a little bit – probably wasn’t conducive to the best atmosphere.
“So, through our actions, through how we play, we can involve them more. It’s a two-way thing definitely but they do make such a difference when we hear them and when the volume is there, as it has been plenty of times over the last number of years.”
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