Lord of the Dance
Easterby wants Ireland to be clinical
Sport

Easterby wants Ireland to be clinical

FORWARDS coach Simon Easterby wants Ireland to be more clinical against England in Sunday’s defining RBS Six Nations clash at the Aviva Stadium.

Easterby reckons the clash with England is going to be an ‘arm wrestle’ so maintaining discipline is key.  “We’re disappointed with some of the opportunities that we created and didn’t quite make the most of against France and that could be the difference between the French having the ascendancy in the last 10 minutes and us being 12-15 points ahead,” Easterby said.

“That’s where we need to get to if we’re going to beat these teams well. We’ve got to make sure that we take those chances at lineout, maul-time phases. If we’re creating them, then we’ve got to make sure we make the most of them because they’ll be few and far between.”

Former Irish international Easterby, capped 65 times, is expecting a physical encounter.  “The weekend is going to be an arm wrestle, there’s no doubt about that.  We need to make sure we stay in it and the rest of the time we need to make sure we play smart and hold our discipline.”