Wales will not bow to the pressure of a rugby World Cup quarter-final by retreating into their shell against Ireland on Saturday and will instead trust the attacking style that has served them so well in the tournament, flyhalf Stephen Jones said.
Wales have provided plenty of fireworks so far, scoring 180 points in the pool phase, second only to New Zealand’s 240. Their 23 tries were the third-highest behind the All Blacks (36) and Australia (25) and they also posted the third-highest score of the tournament in a 81-7 victory over Namibia in Pool D.
Pundits have pointed to the success of Australia, England and South Africa at the last three tournaments as examples of how playing “knockout rugby” provided the platform to winning the Webb Ellis Cup.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Those tactics involved kicking for territory, building pressure inside the opponent’s half, taking points when the chance comes, be it through penalties or drop goals and defending like their lives depended upon it.
However, Jones said that type of rugby did not sit right with Wales.
“That wouldn’t be a good scenario for us,” Jones told reporters in Wellington. “What’s important is that we go out and express ourselves.”
“There’s good confidence in our game plan and the style the coaches want us to play. What’s important is that we go out and do that. Be brave and play with a lot of excitement,” Jones said.
Jones said the younger members of the squad were not afraid to play running rugby.
“I think with the younger players, they are more fearless and they go out there and play and back themselves. That’s what our guys have done,” Jones said of their tactical approach in the knockout phases. “They’ve got high rugby ability and they’ve just gone out there and enjoyed throwing the ball around.”
“What we can’t become is predictable in our attack. We have to have variety [and] I’m confident that the game plan we have gives us that,” Jones said. “What’s important is that we implement that and try and manipulate defences so that we can play a great style of rugby.”
Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll was not ready to rule anything out of their game plan heading into the knockout phases.
“You have to do what gets you across the line, what wins you games,” he said after coach Declan Kidney named a side that included the more conservative Ronan O’Gara rather than the more attacking Jonathan Sexton at flyhalf. “I think it’s about pressure rugby. You don’t decide on one ... brand you will play before the game. You have to feel your way into games and understand what will build that pressure and get you points.”
“It’s about making sure that you do what it takes on the day rather than going in with a pre-hatched plan,” O’Driscoll said.
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