Ireland v Romania - Teams and Prediction
PREVIEW: Ireland begin their World Cup campaign against Romania in Bordeaux on Saturday and the Six Nations Grand Slam winners will want to deliver a performance that suggests they can at last progress beyond the quarterfinals.
Romania should not present too many problems as they are a long way from the side that once drew with the Irish in the 1980s.
Irish talisman Johnny Sexton admits he will be nervous when he steps onto a rugby pitch for a competitive match for the first time in six months.
So will the rest of Ireland be.
The 38-year-old’s fitness remains integral to Irish hopes of lifting the Webb Ellis Cup or even reaching the semifinals.
A groin injury – he suffered in the Six Nations Grand Slam sealing win over England in March – and then a three-match ban has kept him on the sidelines.
“Hopefully I can go out and put up a good performance as I expect that of myself,” said Sexton.
“There will be no excuses if I play below par.
“Once I got over the injury came the three games off and I’ve just been focused on this game for the last couple of months.”
Farrell wants a slick performance
The Irish won all three of their warm-up matches but made few headlines. There was none of the pizzazz of South Africa’s win over the New Zealanders or Fiji’s historic victory over ailing England.
Indeed head coach Andy Farrell labelled some of the play “clunky” but with a bit of reflection he is happy.
“Sure hope so,” he said regarding seeing a more polished Ireland on Saturday.
“It is not a concern, three warm-up games with different personnel, everyone at different stages pre-season.
“All are galvanised to one point. This is it: the start of competition.
“The performance should be a hell of a lot slicker.”
Farrell has had his World Cup disappointments.
He was assistant England coach when the hosts went out at the pool stage in 2015.
He was also Irish assistant in 2019 when the 2018 Grand Slam winners were crushed by New Zealand in the quarterfinals.
He believes he has the right mix this time round in his 33-man squad with 18 players appearing in their first World Cup.
Farrell deliberately tested out how the younger players would fare with tournament distractions by spending a week in Biarritz ahead of their final warm-up match with Samoa.
Some passed the test in staying focussed, he said, but not all.
“When you get to these type of tournaments and the euphoria that’s around it, if you’re a young, inexperienced type of player, you can get lost in the carnival atmosphere etc,” he said.
“But we have experience in abundance with our group that keeps the mind focused.”
Romanians to provide physical test
Vern Cotter has been round the block in coaching at the highest level.
He took Scotland into the 2015 World Cup and also spent a couple of years in charge of Fiji, while at club level he has bounced around France’s Top 14, winning the coveted Brennus shield with Clermont.
The 61-year-old New Zealander believes ‘The Oaks’ are heading in the right direction.
He likes the progress a young squad, largely made up of Romanians with a sprinkling of naturalised Pacific Islanders, has made in the month he has been with them as a consultant.
Cotter believes they will be more finely-honed in four years time as they learn from these games against major teams such as Ireland.
“A French player once said that in playing the Irish he had learned more in one match than he had in three years of training,” Cotter told AFP.
“That is what these boys need.”
Farrell says Romania have been “well scouted” and anticipates a physical encounter.
“They are a determined group packed with power, aggression, good at the set piece, and love mauling and scrummaging.
“They are very direct in the forwards and pretty nippy with the backs too.”
Prediction
@rugby365com: Ireland by 40 points.
Teams:
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (captain), 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Peter O’Mahony, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Josh van der Flier, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Robbie Henshaw.
Romania: 15 Marius Simionescu, 14 Nicolas Onutu, 13 Fonovai Tangimana, 12 Jason Tomane, 11 Tevita Manumua, 10 Hinckley Vaovasa, 9 Gabriel Rupanu, 8 Cristian Chirica (captain), 7 Vlad Neculau, 6 Florian Rosu, 5 Stefan Iancu, 4 Adrian Motoc, 3 Alexandru Gordas, 2 Ovidiu Cojocaru, 1 Iulian Hartig.
Replacements: 16 Florin Bardasu, 17 Alexandru Savin, 18 Gheorghe Gajion, 19 Marius Iftimiciuc, 20 Dragos Ser, 21 Alin Conache, 22 Tudor Boldor, 23 Taylor Gontineac.
Date: Saturday, September 9
Venue: Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux
Kick-off: 15.30 (13.30 GMT; 14.30 UK & Ireland time; 16.30 EEST)
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant Referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
