Matt Williams claims ‘entitlement seeped into Ireland team’ as Andy Farrell’s side failed to heed All Blacks warning
Ireland players dejected after All Blacks defeat in 2024 and pundit Matt Williams.
Outspoken pundit Matt Williams claims that the outside talk before the game ‘seeped’ into Ireland’s camp and affected their performance against the All Blacks.
Andy Farrell’s men were favourites heading into this match as they looked for revenge following their Rugby World Cup quarter-final loss last year.
However, it was New Zealand who once again came out on top as they overcame the hosts 23-13 thanks to Will Jordan’s try and 18 points from the boot of Damian McKenzie.
Williams felt that the discussion surrounding this current All Blacks set-up was over the top and had warned beforehand about the threat that Scott Robertson’s outfit posed.
Not laying the foundation
“The general rugby community for this particular game had an air of entitlement about it; ‘Oh, New Zealand have lost their shine, they’re not who they are’,” he said on Virgin Media Sport.
“Mate, you go out against New Zealand, you’ve got to establish your foundation. I don’t think at any point in that game Ireland established a foundation. They went out and played dry weather football on a wet night.
“This is a great Irish side and I’m a huge supporter, so I’m not going to condemn them, but on this particular occasion, I don’t think they came out and established that base that you’ve got to do every time against great teams.
“That’s the physical, get in the corners, play the first 20, and at no point did they do that. They were playing like they were 10 points in the lead.”
Williams was then asked about his use of the word ‘entitlement’ and whether it ultimately played a part in Ireland’s performance on Friday.
The former Leinster coach responded: “I don’t bet, but I told my son to put 10 on it because that was crazy. I’ve been telling everyone, ‘what’s going on? Am I not seeing this?’
“It always seeps into the team. You try not to but it always seeps in.”
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Ireland great Rob Kearney, who was on the panel alongside Williams, did not necessarily agree, stating: “Entitlement’s a strong word, overconfidence maybe”, but the Australian then explained his view further.
“You might be right and I might be wrong, I’m just quite astounded I had to defend New Zealand. An Australian defending the New Zealanders, it doesn’t sit well with me, but you’ve got to respect them,” the 64-year-old said.
“They were seven players down from the team that beat us in the quarter-final and I think everyone just might have taken them a bit too easy.”
Horgan’s view
Kearney’s fellow former Ireland great, Shane Horgan, insisted that it was nothing to do with the team’s attitude and everything to do with their inability to execute.
“At some point you have to able to say we are a top quality team. We’ve just beaten South Africa in South Africa,” Horgan said.
“We’re playing at home, we should beat this opposition. It’s a legitimate thing to say that we’re confident going into this game.
“I don’t think there’s a lack of respect and I don’t necessarily think there is an overconfidence, I just think they didn’t deliver a performance.
“If you don’t deliver a performance, and there may be a number of reasons for that, you’re not going to beat New Zealand.”
