Samoa's ability to gain entry deep into Irish territory will have the Springboks licking their lips, reckons Jamie Heaslip.
Andy Farrell’s men finished their World Cup warm-ups with a nervy 17-13 victory over the Pacific Islanders in Bayonne last night.
After finding themselves 13-7 down with 29 minutes to go, Ireland scored two tries but never managed to kill off Seilala Mapusua’s side.
Indeed, only for a James Ryan defensive lineout steal on Ireland’s line in the last minute, Samoa could have pulled of a shock to rival Fiji's win over England yesterday.
How easily the 12th ranked team in the world managed to work their way in the danger zone worried former Ireland number 8 Heaslip, particularly on the back of Pool B rivals South Africa's 35-7 win over New Zealand on Friday night.
"What would concern me, particularly in the last five minutes, was how easily Samoa worked themselves outside Ireland’s five-metre line," he told RTÉ Sport.
"It was basic, it was big men running hard and you can be sure South Africa and other big teams are going, 'oh, okay this is what plan A should be against Ireland’."
A serious-looking injury to Cian Healy aside, the unconvincing manner of the team’s record-breaking 13th win in a row can act as a warning shot across the bow, added the former Lions and Leinster back row forward.
"In a strange way, it’s the perfect game, isn’t it," he said.
"It scares them enough to realise that if you take your foot up, if you are not brilliant at your basics, that includes the scrum, lineout, entry points into the game, you don’t force it, you play the conditions, play the team that is in front of you.
"It shouldn’t take the more senior players to come on to the field to steady the ship, to a certain degree.
"I think the players that started the game were probably not as confident of being on the plane to France as the guys on the bench, a lot of the players, and they potentially forced it to a degree, just the nature of the game and the fact that they are calling the squad out [today].
"They should have tried to play the conditions first and not force it, play a bit of territory; they were doing good basics around the ruck but not forcing passes and not forcing the game."
Jerry Flannery, the former Munster and Ireland hooker, also hailed the impact of the bench and said: "It was an ugly game, horrible to watch but Ireland showed a huge amount of character in the second half to come back and win that game. Samoa aren’t mugs, they are a good team."
It was a sentiment that Simon Zebo agreed with.
"A lot of credit has to go to Samoa, they brought line speed and made it really difficult for Ireland," said the Munster winger.
"The conditions certainly played a part but this is what these games are for, they are supposed to get you to build a rhythm, build a connection, build momentum going into a World Cup. You don’t want to be firing on all cylinders two or three games out.
"You want to have things to work on and to focus on leading in your first game. There are a lot of players who are in decent form but, as we just saw, opposition like Samoa really tested us and there’s a lot to work on.
"We are not mugs all of a sudden. It wasn’t the cleanest performances but at the same time there are clear points we need to get better at."
Head coach Farrell will name his 33-man squad for the World Cup at 4.30pm today and the side's first match is against Romania in Bordeaux on 9 September.
'It was an ugly game, it was horrible to watch but Ireland showed a lot of character in the second half' - the panel reflect as Ireland dig out a narrow win over Samoa on a damp night in Bayonne #rterugby pic.twitter.com/Uv5VTT0RoN
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) August 26, 2023
