New Zealand coach Steve Hansen’s claim on Saturday that Ireland are now No. 1 in the world and favorites for the Rugby World Cup has been dismissed as “banter” by Joe Schmidt, the Six Nations champions’ coach.
Hansen — who as coach is chasing a World Cup in Japan next year to go with his 2015 triumph and their 2011 win under Graham Henry — made that assessment after Ireland defeated the All Blacks 16-9 for their first win over them at home.
“I said at the beginning of the week it is the two best sides in the world playing each other,” Hansen said. “As of now, they are the No. 1 team in the world.”
Schmidt lauded his defense for becoming the first national team to keep New Zealand tryless since France in 1995.
However, he was having none of Hansen’s claims, despite recording his second win over his compatriots.
“I think he probably enjoyed a little bit of banter,” Schmidt said. “We had the fantastic crowd right behind us so there were lots of things stacked in our favor.”
Elsewhere, Owen Farrell was the key as England turned a 15-10 deficit into a 35-15 victory over Japan.
Farrell came on for the second half in London and the influence of his winning mentality was almost palpable at Twickenham after Japan were impressive in the first half and in the early stages of the second as they used quick passes and incisive runs to torment the England defense, raising memories of their famous World Cup pool match win over South Africa in 2015.
In Edinburgh, South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus credited the Springboks’ improved poise in tight matches for their 26-20 victory over Scotland at Murrayfield.
Meanwhile, a scrappy 26-7 win over Italy has all but ensured coach Michael Cheika will guide the Wallabies to a second World Cup, but he has more immediate headaches before the season-ending clash against England.
With the Wallabies having slumped to an eighth loss in 11 Tests against Wales the week before, a first ever defeat to the Azzurri would have been more than enough justification for Rugby Australia to swing the axe, even with 10 months left before the global showpiece.
In Lille, France claimed their first victory in nine months by beating Argentina 28-13, with Teddy Thomas scoring two tries.
Further south, Canada and Hong Kong are to play for the last berth in the World Cup after bonus-point wins in the second round of the repechage tournament in Marseille. Canada beat Germany 29-10 for their second straight win and will be favored to qualify for Pool B in Japan alongside New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and Namibia.
Hong Kong defeated Kenya 42-17.
Additional reporting by staff writer and AP
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