Ireland’s Caelan Doris has said he fully expects the squad to bounce back from their poor display against New Zealand last weekend.
Argentina and Ireland clash on Friday night at the Aviva Stadium, with Ireland looking to get back on track while Felipe Contepomi’s side aims to add to Andy Farrell’s woes.
Under Farrell, Ireland has shown resilience after setbacks. Following the opening game loss on their 2022 New Zealand tour, Ireland went on to win the series. Likewise, after losing the opening game in South Africa last summer, Ireland fought back to win the second test, drawing the series.
Doris believes that experience will benefit both himself and the wider Ireland team.
“I think that’s been a strength of ours and something we’ve put quite a lot of effort into over the last few years, in terms of acknowledging where we’re at, coming together, and taking a breath—getting back to neutral,” the 26-year-old Leinster player said on Thursday.
“We weren’t good enough at it on Friday. We did come together and take a breath, but acknowledging what’s going on within a game, what the trends are—I need to be better; as a group, we need to be better.”
Farrell, after the New Zealand loss, stated that his players got “a little too desperate,” with a series of forced errors creating a compound effect.
Ireland captain Caelan Doris admits the team has been given a "second chance" by head coach Andy Farrell after a flat performance in last week's defeat by New Zealand 🏉#BBCRugby pic.twitter.com/owmt0p8qFK
— BBC SPORT NI (@BBCSPORTNI) November 14, 2024
“It’s not right to try and be desperate, chasing your tail, when you’ve made an error, whether it be a penalty or a dropped ball, and then compounding that error with another mistake. All of a sudden, field position is gone, and points come off the back of that,” Farrell told Sky Sports.
Doris echoed Farrell’s thoughts, highlighting the importance of recognising issues and responding effectively.
“We got a little bit desperate, the nature of us chasing the game a bit. Penalties came through desperation, so coming together and getting back to neutral would help.
“You practice it in training; obviously, mistakes are more frequent in games, but it’s about coming together, recognising what’s been good or bad, and then reacting.”
Ireland’s game against Argentina will take place at the Aviva Stadium on Friday, November 15, at 8:10 p.m. It will be followed by a match against Fiji on Saturday, November 23, and will conclude with Ireland’s 150th Anniversary Test against Australia on Saturday, November 30, with kick-off at 3:10 p.m.
All these matches will be broadcast live on Virgin Media in the Republic of Ireland and TNT Sports in the United Kingdom.
