Pitchside with Ferris: My take on the Rugby World Cup so far

Ireland v Scotland recap  

The highlight for me from last weekend was simplybeing an Irish Rugby fan and seeing them getting off to a fantastic start.

I was slightly apprehensive before the Scotland game.The manner of the Irish performance was the most professional out of any of theteams in my opinion.

I think Ireland thrived off Scotland’smistakes, getting the better of all the 50/50 balls. Considering the weatherconditions and the few injuries they had in the week leading up to the match,it was such a professional job and they took Scotland to the cleaners.  

Ireland v Japan

I think in the second half of the game they reducedtheir physicality leaving Scotland with a lot more possession.

The advice I would give Ireland going into theJapan game, is to try and have the upper hand throughout the eighty minuteswhen it comes to possession. If you can control ownership of the ball, you canusually control the game a lot better.  

Ireland can rest some of their key men like JohnnySexton who didn’t take his kicking duties last weekend due to a strain.

Others like Bundee Aki and Peter O’Mahony can take a week of rest also. But I think Japan will do the same. They are going to try and target the Scotland game to get that victory.

But I have to say, I feel Ireland are going to do another job and hopefully another 20-25-point win.  

Ireland v Russia  

Again, I think there will be a lot of changes here.Pointers I would give for this game would be to be very clinical. Guys likeJacob Stockdale if he is playing or Keith Earls if he gets a run out, can findthemselves on the scoresheet a few times.

The guys need to make the Russian’s work and capitalise when given the opportunity. Another big win forIreland on the horizon in my opinion. 

Ireland potentially facing South Africa in Quarter-Finals  

I thought South Africa’s performance against NewZealand for the most part was very good. I think they switched off maybe 20minutes into the game, even with New Zealand presenting them with plenty ofopportunities.

On the other hand, Ireland facing South Africa was agame we knew was probably going to come even before the World Cup kicked off.Joe Schmidt will be planning for South Africa over the next three weeks.

He will be coming up with setplays and different options when it comes to kicking game.I think the Ireland team will be very well prepared going into this game if itdoes play out that way. I can’t see Ireland slipping up before then, or anybodyelse beating South Africa.  

England v Tonga recap  

England had a nervy start, it was a tough 20 minutes wearing Tonga down.The Tonga lads are huge, very strong and pretty emotional types of guys also.

They are representing their country and want to doeveryone proud. England missed a couple of opportunities in the second half.

But they are a very strong team and are well coachedby Eddie Jones who has experience of being in Japan. I think they aregoing to be a tough team to beat going forward.  

Australia 

Australia always seem to peak around World Cup time. There was controversy regarding their game against Fiji.

There were some high tackles, one or two of the Aussies could have gotten a yellow card or even worse. Fiji is known for running out of steam, so Australia were waiting out their time.

There was a period in the game where I believe they were 24-12 down and they kicked for the post and that brought them within one score. As soon as they got their noses in front, they never looked like losing again.   

Australia v Wales  

The Welsh game at the weekend is going to be the pickof the bunch. This is the game I am most looking forward to watching.

Wales were going through the motions for the most partplaying against Georgia, I feel they may have preferred a tougher game to getthem prepared for this big clash.

It is not the end of the world if either team loses,but if I was to place one value bet it would be Australia sneaking it by acouple of points.  

My World Cup winner afterweekend one  

I like to be optimistic with the way Ireland performedso professional. I think other teams will be wary of Ireland after thatperformance against Scotland, so I believe Ireland are contenders.

Along with New Zealand as they showed the world if youplay loosely against them for fifteen minutes, you could find yourself 2-3tries behind as they are so good at turning over the ball. I think SouthAfrica still have some oil left in the tank along with Englandtoo.    

Back working with EddieO’Sullivan 

Eddie is a quirky character; he gave me my first capfor Ireland back in 2006. We’ve known each other for quite a long time and haveworked together on several different broadcasts. But to now be on apanel with him working regularly week in, week out.

He knows his stuff, he’s a good coach and I have the upmost respectfor him. We work well together and always have a bit of banter. Hopefully wewill be working on a lot more games together and more Ireland games in thetournament too.  

I will be back next week with more Rugby World Cuptalk in my exclusive Ladbrokes blog! 

My Five-Fold acca  

My Five-Fold acca for this weekend is: 

• Argentina to beat Tonga  
• Ireland to beat Japan  
• Georgia to beat Uruguay
• Australia to beat Wales
• Scotland to beat Samoa

Stephen 

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