The belief Ireland had prior to losing their Rugby World Cup quarter-final to New Zealand has not „slipped away“, insists scrum coach John Fogarty.
Before that defeat, the Irish won 17 matches in a row and clinched last year’s Six Nations Grand Slam.
But as they prepare to begin their Six Nations defence against France, Fogarty says self-belief has not been affected by another painful World Cup exit.
„I don’t think that belief hasn’t slipped away,“ he said.
„That belief is 100% there in the squad. You can see it in mini-meetings, in unit meetings, how the players are interacting with each other.
„They’re preparing to perform now. The learnings that we’ll take with us are really important. The game [against New Zealand] fine margins, small margins, it’s been said, it’s not untrue.“
Fogarty, who said Ireland have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the France match, added: „There were small margins, we need to make sure we’re on the right side of those.
„What an opportunity now for this squad. Andy [Farrell] says ‚go and make it happen‘. There’s a lot of belief in the squad, a lot of clarity and it’s going to be difficult.
„Huge crowd, France at home in Marseille, it’s incredibly exciting.“
Ireland are entering a new era with Peter O’Mahony as captain following Johnny Sexton’s retirement after the World Cup.
While the All Blacks defeat clearly devastated a much-hyped Irish side, Fogarty insists there is no need for a radical overhaul of ideas as they attempt to become the first side to win back-to-back Grand Slams in the Six Nations era.
„For us, it’s building on what we’ve done over the last few months and couple of years,“ added Fogarty, who was speaking from Ireland’s pre-tournament training base in Quinta do Lago in Portugal.
„You can call it what you want, that’s what we’re focusing on.
„We have a good body of work done, there’s really good experience built into the squad, and there’s been some tough days over the last number of years, and there’s nice resilience built into the squad.
„We’re going to build on top of what we’ve done, and it’s unbelievably exciting to have our first game.
„What an opportunity to go and show what we can add a little bit different, or a little bit more, in Marseille with a packed crowd against a world-class side like France.
„It’s a brilliant opportunity in front of us, we need to go and make it happen, make a performance happen for ourselves.“
‚The crowd is right there in your face‘
Ireland will face France at Stade Velodrome in Marseille with Stade de France being given a facelift before Paris hosts the Olympic Games this summer.
And while the Irish have avoided a potentially painful return to the Paris venue, Robbie Henshaw admits Stade Velodrome – which staged two World Cup quarter-finals last year – can be „quite intimidating“ for visiting players.
„It’s an incredible stadium,“ said the 30-year-old centre, who played in Leinster’s Champions Cup final defeat by La Rochelle at the Marseille venue in 2022.
„As opposed to playing in Stade de France, it’s a tight stadium. It’s obviously a football pitch and the crowd is right there in your face.
„It can be intimidating at times when the crowd are up so we got to experience that playing for Leinster a couple of seasons ago and it was different.“
Three-cap British and Irish Lion Henshaw missed Ireland’s thrilling win over France in Dublin last year because of injury.
He is one of four players – along with Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey and Bundee Aki – competing for the two starting midfield spots in the Irish team for Friday’s game.
„It’s great to have competition as a player,“ said Henshaw.
„That’s what drives you on to keep trying to get the best out of yourself and the team. For me, it’s doing my best on the training pitch and being confident that what I’ve done in the past 12 months with Leinster has put my hand up.
„I’m feeling good and confident. All the lads are competing for those centre jerseys so that definitely drives our performance.“
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