We’ll admit it, we got ahead of ourselves.
We told ourselves we would not, even after Robbie Henshaw and Kieran Marmion did a number on Munster. We started to waiver after they did so well against Castres. Montpellier was a bit of a bust but the pair looked good together.
In retrospect, we may have jumped the gun by calling on them to team up in the Irish midfield against New Zealand. It was only because we wanted to keep Jared Payne at fullback.
As it transpired in Chicago, Henshaw and Payne were excellent in midfield and Rob Kearney turned the clock back with a supreme showing at fullback.
In Joe with trust.
This afternoon at Carton House, Joe Schmidt reminded us all – in an ever so gentle way – that we needed to get a grip.
A really exciting line-up https://t.co/jfE9p1BkL8
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 10, 2016
Ringrose was named alongside Luke Marshall in the Ireland team to face Canada, on Saturday. Henshaw, job supremely done last weekend, will watch the game from the stands. Schmidt commented:
“Robbie was tremendous last week and, looking back at Jared’s game, he made a couple of very telling contributions as well. Those two know each other very well.
“In the end, Robbie and Garry have only played for Leinster together four times [Note: It’s actually three times]. It is a combination they are developing, as such, but whether that’s sufficient… there almost have to be an intuitiveness. You don’t get a lot of time to communicate in those channels.
“It was one of those fantastic things, when I walked into Leinster there was Gordon D’Arcy and Brian O’Driscoll. They didn’t really have a lot to say to each other on the pitch. They just knew, by the body language, where the other guy was going. You get so little time [together] so if you can avoid the need for that communication, you are so much better off.
“That something that, potentially going forward is a really positive thing.”
Potentially. Going forward.
In other words, hold your horses. They’ll get there.
Schmidt is excited at seeing how Ringrose fares alongside Luke Marshall, who missed out on the All Blacks game after picking up a slight knock on Ireland duty.
“With Garry, there’s a bit of experience either side of him so it is a nice entry to the Test arena. I thought Luke Marshall was outstanding at 12 in the first Test at Cape Town, earlier this year. Keith Earls has got all that experience and Craig Gilroy has played quite a bit as well. Having those guys around for Tiernan O’Halloran and Garry will be really good.
“I think Garry is a really natural player. He sees things and he is already ahead of the game. He reads the game early. While being lean, he is strong and it allows him to avoid those full contacts and just slip past players through a tackle and get over the gainline.”
Schmidt highlighted Ringrose being an astute defender to the Irish fans will be most excited about seeing him taking the attack to Canada.
This could be the start of something special… but we’re not getting ahead of ourselves. We swear.
The GAA Hour chats to Ballyea sensation Tony Kelly and features a raging argument over which road you should take from Clare to Wexford. Subscribe here on iTunes.
