2 days ago
'It's not going to be perfect, I'm sure there will be plenty of nerves'
PAUL O'CONNELL HAS named a new-look Ireland team for Saturday's Test meeting with Georgia [KO 6pm Irish time, Virgin Media], and while the interim head coach is anticipating a few nerves among the fresher faces in his squad, he's challenged his players to rise to the occasion in Tbilisi.
O'Connell has named six uncapped players in his matchday 23. Leinster's Tommy O'Brien is set to win his first cap on the wing while Connacht lock Darragh Murray starts alongside Cormac Izuchukwu in the second row.
Munster's Michael Milne, Connacht's Jack Aungier, Munster's Tom Ahern and Connacht scrum-half Ben Murphy are the four uncapped players named on the Ireland bench.
O'Connell is head coach for the two-game tour. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
'The exciting thing for the players is the real challenge of being international rugby players, it's trying to come together on a Monday and trying to be ready to play a Test match with no excuses on the following Saturday,' O'Connell said.
'There's similarities with how we play between all the different provinces so they pick things up pretty quickly, trying to pick up the language, the little nuances of how we make things work is the challenge for a lot of them.
'But they've been very good, and the more experienced guys around the group have been very good with them as well, Craig Casey is able to explain to Tom Ahern that 'this' is the word for 'that' and they get aligned a little bit quicker, so I think the more senior players in the group have been excellent with the younger guys.
'It's been good and it won't be perfect, we're aware of that when we play even with the most experienced internationals in the group, it won't be perfect, so trying to make the players really aware of that as well is important and we just have to crack on.'
The group spent two weeks training together in Abbotstown before flying out to Tbilisi on Wednesday, and will follow the Georgia Test with a clash against Portugal in Lisbon seven days later.
The Ireland coaches are hoping to give gametime to all 33 squad players across the two games.
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Centre Stuart McCloskey (19 caps), winger Jacob Stockdale (38), scrum-half Craig Casey (18) and flanker Ryan Baird (27) are the more experienced players in the matchday 23, with 11 of the capped squad players yet to hit the 10-cap mark – Jimmy O'Brien (8), Jamie Osborne (7), Sam Prendergast (8), Jack Boyle (2), Gus McCarthy (4), Thomas Clarkson (6), Cormac Izuchukwu (1), Nick Timoney (3), Gavin Coombes (2), Tom Stewart (2), Cian Prendergast (4).
Tommy O'Brien is set to debut on the wing. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
'As I said it's not going to be perfect, I'm sure there will be plenty of nerves, but that's part of it, you almost have to experience that and go through it a little bit to learn how to guide it out.
'That's why we wanted them in that two-week preparation window, so they really get to learn how to come in, how to learn quickly, how to get aligned quickly, we've spoken to them a lot and a big part of what we do is about the players staying present and not taking mistakes with them. We do a lot of work on that and we speak a lot about that, but ultimately until you're in the middle of it and you're making a mistake and trying to have to figure out how to get out of your own way, it's only by being on the field and experiencing it that you really learn.
'So that's the great thing for this tour. It's so good we've had so many players selected for the Lions, there's another bonus for us in that we get this really tough Test match in a country that are full of confidence in how their rugby is going, so these guys have a real challenge on their hands.
It's not a Test match or a game of small significance, it's a really significant Test match where they have to perform. They're going to learn a lot and we'll learn a lot as coaches as well.'
Georgia are currently ranked 11th in the world, sandwiched between Italy (10th) and Wales (12th).
'They're an excellent side,' O'Connell added.
'They're a very proud rugby nation but really well coached as well. We know a lot of their coaches, Conor McPhillips, Roddy Grand, I would have learned an awful lot from Roddy Grant when I first came into the job with Ireland, he was working with Ulster at the time and you can see it in how they play, they're very well organised, I suppose a little bit like us, they're quite passionate about what they do and they're able to combine that now with good organisation and really good structure with what they do.
'They've a mixture of players playing in France who bring a real flair to what they do and the Black Lion players have impressed a lot of the coaches as well, the likes of [Mikheil] Babunashvili from a forwards point of view and [Luka] Ivanishvili, these kind of guys that are really tough, well organised, smart rugby players.
'They'd a good autumn, nearly beat Italy, they'd a good summer last year, they put 29 points on Australia down there, didn't beat them, but they beat a Tier 1 nation in Japan and they've been steadily beating Tier 1 nations in the last number of years. So it's a brilliant Test match for our players.'
