Cullie Tucker believes Ireland's summer tour of Georgia and Portugal will only strengthen the competition for places in the Ireland team next season.
The Ireland squad are deep into their preparation for Saturday’s Test with Portugal in Lisbon, as they look to build on their 34-5 win against Georgia in Tbilisi last weekend, where six players made their debuts.
With 16 regular internationals away on duty with the British and Irish Lions, as well as the majority of the senior coaching staff, Ireland's first game in the Georgian capital had the potential to be a real banana skin, particularly as the rain poured down at Mikheil Meskhi Stadium.
While their win was far from perfect, it never looked in any major doubt as they raced into a 14-0 lead inside seven minutes following a brace of tries from debutant Tommy O’Brien. A Georgia try on the stroke of half time put only a minor level of jeopardy on the result, but Craig Casey’s try just after the break saw Ireland keep them comfortably at arm’s length.
"The big downpour of rain made it even tougher, but a very proud moment for them," said Tucker, who is covering as scrum coach while John Fogarty is away with the Lions.
Tucker (below), who has been scrum coach at Connacht in recent seasons, was impressed with the attitude of Ireland’s inexperienced players.
"I think in fairness, how they prepared, they weren’t just accepting of getting the jersey, they wanted to go out and perform with it.
"It was evident in how they undertook the task at the weekend. Very proud to see new caps out there, and I thought they did themselves justice."
The squad have now moved from Tbilisi to Lisbon, where they will take on Portugal this Saturday at Estadio Nacional, the site of Celtic’s 1967 European Cup triumph over Inter Milan.
Connacht captain Cian Prendergast is available for selection again after he missed last Saturday's game with illness.
Interim head coach Paul O’Connell is to name his starting team on Thursday morning, with one change guaranteed in the backline after Jacob Stockdale (below) suffered a tour-ending shoulder injury, which opens a space on the left wing for Calvin Nash, or potentially a debut for Connacht’s Shayne Bolton.
Portugal, coached by former Munster assistant Simon Mannix, will be familiar with Ireland, having previously trained against them in the lead-up to the 2023 Rugby World Cup, a tournament 'Os Lobos’ defied expectations in, defeating Fiji and claiming a draw with Georgia.
"They’re a very good rugby team," Tucker added of Portugal, who are now 18th in the world rankings.
"It’s a game that needs to be taken very, very seriously. We’re here to win two games; they’re going to provide a different type of challenge to Georgia, but a significant one. And you have the heat on top of that.
"They’re coached by Simon Mannix, who is a very good operator. It’s going to be a very, very tough game and we’re preparing like it’s going to be that way.
"The boys are very focused, obviously carrying good positivity from the result and performance at the weekend. We reviewed it very well, very hard. There’s plenty for us to be better at.
"A change of climate now, the heat has increased significantly, but the boys’ attitude has been brilliant. It’s been a good couple of days so far."
With O’Connell the only member of the regular Ireland coaching staff involved this summer due to the Lions, Tucker has been recruited to work with the Irish setpiece, with Mike Prendergast and Denis Leamy drafted in from Munster to work on attack and defence.
It caps off an eventful season for the Shannon man, who spent a portion of the campaign as interim head coach of Connacht, following the departure of Pete Wilkins.
"It’s always good to get in with new coaches, but the calibre of their coaching is outstanding as well. It’s great to work with them; nothing is off the table, everybody is across each other, giving opinions.
"It’s fantastic to have that kind of open environment as coaches, and we’re being really accurate with how we’re delivering our messages.
"Paul [O’Connell] is really driving that, so it’s been a great experience."
