IRELAND SECOND row James Ryan feels that Ireland have learnt from their French defeat last month and feels that Ireland's side will be ready for the English in Twickenham this weekend.
Ryan was stand-in captain for Johnny Sexton in the 30-24 defeat to France in front of 80,000 fans in the Stade de France.
Twickenham will hold similar numbers and pose a similar test for Ryan and Ireland. He mentioned that the France game came as a shock for many of the players.
Dublin , Ireland - 5 February 2022; Members of the Ireland pack, from left, Tadhg Beirne, James Ryan, Peter OMahony and Josh van der Flier during the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship match between Ireland and Wales at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. (Photo By David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile via Getty Images)Asked if Ireland “lacked a bit of focus at times” in the French loss, he said
“Yeah, I think a little bit. I think it could have influenced us a little bit. That's why I kind of mentioned the focus piece. It's something we definitely won't forget to mention going forward.
“A lot of new guys have come in, a lot of guys who haven't played in an occasion like that, so it does have a bit of an impact.
“For us, that's one of the things we have mentioned this week, just making sure when we are getting our mental prep done that we take into account that it's going to be very noisy.
“It's going to be louder than say the Aviva can be at times. So, making sure that we are focused and start well.
“When you go away to the Stade de France or England, if you start poorly, the crowd gets into the game off the back of it, then it can be tricky.
“Starting well and being aware of the crowd going into the game is important.”
Ireland's last win against England in the famous south west London stadium came in 2018. where Ireland won the Grand Slam.
Ryan said he was looking forward to the challenge ahead
“The last time I went it was definitely very different to the previous couple of times but it’s a great stadium to play in. It’s a bit different to Stade de France but it’s brilliant.
Probably the big thing is when you get off the bus outside Twickenham and you walk 50 or 100 meters, I don’t know what it is but it’s pretty cool because there’s thousands and thousands of people there.
“It’s a great stadium to play in, 80,000. It’s a good bit bigger than the Aviva.”
Ireland's team will be announced tomorrow, where Ryan is expected to come back in after missing the Italy game with an abductor strain.
James Ryan and Ireland well aware of what England will bring at Twickenham https://t.co/TLC2Goe11i via @IrishTimesSport
— Irish Times Sport (@IrishTimesSport) March 9, 2022
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