"Picture the scene. Ireland have spent most of the last fortnight training hard and fine-tuning the game-plan. Each of the coaches have some last-minute words of encouragement regarding their area of expertise before the players leave the dressing room and take to Soldier Field."
""Right, lads. We haven't played together in a while. Let's not over-complicate things at our first lineout. Just win the ball and build your way into the game.""
Ireland spent the fortnight before the match training intensively and refining the game-plan. Coaches delivered last-minute, area-specific encouragement before the squad left the dressing room and took to Soldier Field. Forwards coach Paul O'Connell emphasised simplicity at the first lineout: "Right, lads. We haven't played together in a while. Let's not over-complicate things at our first lineout. Just win the ball and build your way into the game." That instruction was practical, but set-piece execution faltered in Chicago, revealing kinks in lineouts and scrums that require focused correction and cohesion work.
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