Georgia on his mind, England sympathising and unpopular musical tastes.
With the tournament heading into the final weekend of pool matches we catch up with Denis Hickie, a veteran of two World Cups, to get his views on the competition to date and Ireland’s pivotal clash with France in Cardiff on Sunday.
What have been the highlights of the World Cup so far for you?
“I can’t remember a World Cup where there was this standard of rugby. Forget the scorelines, just the standard of rugby has been so high, among all the competing nations.
“Even when the results haven’t gone their way, the rugby that Canada have played, the rugby that obviously Japan have played, has been a joy to watch.
“Most teams have shown a willingness to move the ball, in comparison to previous World Cups – be it Tonga, the US or Namibia. I think everyone has come to play attacking rugby.”
With that in mind do you think the tier two nations need to be given more top class games?
“Look at Argentina playing in the Rugby Championship. They are a different level to Romania or Japan, but at a point in time the gap between Argentina and Australia, New Zealand and South Africa might have been seen as insurmountable. So right now people might see Georgia playing in the Six Nations as unfeasible, but let them play against top class teams for three, four or five years, somehow, and maybe that would change.”
Did World Rugby mess up by allowing hosts England be drawn in such a tough pool?
“I don’t think it was an error and I don’t think they should tamper with the draw. I’m not happy about England being out of the tournament and I think everyone would like the host country in the tournament for as long as possible. All the talk so far has been about that group, it gave a better balance to the tournament in terms of delivering really critical games early on in the tournament.
“It gave the tournament itself a greater balance… Otherwise it is so back-ended and you would have far less interest in the tournament than we have had.”
Can you sympathise with the under-fire England squad given the fallout from Ireland’s exit in 2007?
“All I’ll say is that when a team goes out of the World Cup all that is reported on is the negative stuff, you get no positive reporting. Stuff people will not be interested in while a team are in the tournament suddenly becomes of massive interest to the press. Once the focus is off the rugby. If the rugby doesn’t go well the focus turns to stuff that, frankly, isn’t relevant.
“The players and the team can do very little about it – 2007 is a perfect example, when things start going wrong we were asked very few questions about what was going on on the pitch, it was all about what was going on off the pitch.
“I feel very sorry for the English lads and management because these are all stories that aren’t relevant to how England performed at the World Cup.”
Looking at Ireland, a degree of pessimism seems to have taken hold after the performances against Italy?
“I wouldn’t use the word pessimism, I think it is nervousness. People know what is at stake and they know it is going to be tough. If it was a foregone conclusion people wouldn’t be as interested in it and it is just how the interest has manifested itself.
“We’re going into a huge game this weekend that we knew was going to be a huge match. If Ireland had beaten Italy by 60 points, you would have a different type of anxiousness because people would be saying we haven’t been tested and it is all going to be different against France and we’re under-cooked. We can’t win really.”
As a former winger you must marvel at the options Joe Schmidt now has in the back-three?
“I didn’t think that going into the fourth game of the World Cup there would still be so many options. You would say that Rob Kearney is the incumbent at full-back but you would say that everything else is less clearcut. It is probably the strongest position Ireland could be in because Schmidt could take any of the options available to him and get a really strong back three.”
You had a decent record against France, winning three of six Tests, do any memories stand out?
“My memories of playing against France are as mixed as my record. Any time Ireland have beaten France it is among the best performances that that Irish team has given. To beat France you have to have 90% of the team playing their best game for Ireland and the other 10% having a 9 out of 10. Beating France is rare and it is very, very difficult.
“I know this Irish team have a very strong record against them but every game has been nail-biting and has seen 23 guys playing their heart out to win. To beat France, especially in the World Cup, you have to have everyone playing almost a perfect game. The current team will know that.”
You’re appearing at the pre-match party in Cardiff with Hermitage Green, any musical recollections from your Ireland days?
“There was always ongoing disputes over what music to play on the team bus. I remember being responsible for I think probably a tape, at this point, which was in 2007 or maybe 2003. I was probably very proud of making it and I remember watching as it was calmly thrown out the window by another member of the squad and looking out of the window at the back of the bus as it was run over by a car. It’s impossible to please all the people all the time.”
Denis Hickie is one of a number of Ireland internationals taking part in a Q&A in Pryzm, Cardiff on Saturday night. Hermitage Green will also perform on the night, with tickets available here.
