‘Wrong side of some refereeing decisions’ – Ireland coach reflects on World Cup exit
Bundee Aki looks dejected after final whistle during the 2023 Rugby World Cup Quarter-finals match between Ireland and New Zealand and defence coach Simon Easterby.
Assistant coach Simon Easterby has reflected on Ireland’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final exit ahead of their Six Nations title defence.
Easterby insists that the side are not thinking about what could have been in 2023 after Ireland were heavily tipped to go deep in the World Cup but were ultimately defeated by New Zealand in the quarters.
Ireland was defeated 28-24 by the All Blacks, while 24 hours later, hosts France were beaten 29-28 by eventual champions South Africa.
Preparing to take on the best
The 2024 Six Nations championship kicks off with France and Ireland colliding in Marseille, and while defence coach Easterby can envisage the narrative around the match, he dismisses its significance.
“It’s probably a game that people thought would have been fitting for a World Cup final – but it wasn’t,” he said.
“We get the second prize of going after each other in the first game.
“I think there will be that story line around what happened in the World Cup, the fact that neither of us got past the quarter-finals.
“That’s really not a concern of ours. Our concern is trying to figure out a way to beat a very, very good team and that’s all we’ve prepared for across the last five or six days.
“There will be stories around what went on in the World Cup and does that kick on into the Six Nations, and inevitably, it is a story, but we have to focus on the here and now.
“It’s a great start for us to see where we’re at at the moment.”
Head coach Farrell started the week by saying he was “over” the World Cup.
“We probably didn’t fire enough shots”
Ireland have now completed a thorough review of their World Cup exit, and Easterby believes that his side did not make the most of their opportunities and were on the wrong end of some referee decisions.
“We probably didn’t fire enough shots and make the most of the opportunities in that game,” Easterby said of the painful loss in Paris.
“They probably didn’t have to work as hard for their scores as we would have liked.
“We were a hair’s breadth away from scoring at the end. And fine, fine margins.
“The maul was really effective, we destroyed them at times in that area. We got on the wrong side of some refereeing decisions.
“But at the end of the day, it was 28-24, very little in it.”
Ireland are fine tuning preparations for the Six Nations at a pre-tournament camp in southern Portugal.
Full fitness
Ahead of their Six Nations opener, Easterby revealed that all of Ireland’s 34 players in the squad trained on Friday.
“We have to manage certain players because of recent or long-standing injuries,” he said.
“Guys will be carrying little bumps and niggles, that’s the nature of the game.
“But to a man they’ve come out, trained and put a shift in today. It was certainly a really sharp session and one that will give them a lot of confidence.”
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