Ireland shouldn’t expect to go toe-to-toe with bigger teams but rather rely on their own strengths, according to Garry Ringrose.
In the aftermath of the heavy opening day defeat to England, Joe Schmidt admitted that the power game Eddie Jones’s side brought to the 32-20 win was a "reality check" in relation to how success could be attained at the World Cup, which starts in September.
Ireland’s Grand Slam run in 2018, plus the summer and November wins over Australia and New Zealand respectively, were built on strong physical performances with no small measure of subtlety but, by Schmidt’s own words, England bullied the Six Nations champions.
We need your consent to load this SoundCloud contentWe use SoundCloud to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Ireland are expected to finish in the top two of Pool A at the World Cup, a placing that would mean a probable quarter-final meeting with either New Zealand or South Africa, two teams known for their physical prowess.
Despite this, Ringrose, speaking on the RTÉ Rugby podcast, believes that Ireland, as a squad, won’t try to bulk up for the sake of it.
"What I love about rugby is that no two players are the same. You can have one position and 10 different types of player going for the one spot," said the 24-year-old centre, who missed Saturday’s win over Scotland with a hamstring strain.
"As a player you want to tick as many boxes as you can while prioritising your strengths and never forgetting that’s why you might have got selected or got to this point in the first place
"[We just tick] away on other little things, whether it’s strength and conditioning, speed, fitness, everyone has multiple things to work at.
"I’m aware that the type of player I am isn’t a massive, big physical one.
"It’s when you can, to try and be imposing and use what you’ve got, then try and focus on other areas as well around speed and agility and skill.
"I wouldn’t say bulking up would be something that would be at the forefront of anyone’s mind."
"Chris and Bundee did incredibly well and they are two guys that can be physical when they need to be but also have the skills to back it up"
Ringrose is hoping to be available for selection for Sunday week’s meeting with Italy in Rome but says that he was impressed by how the centre partnership worked in the 22-13 win at Murrayfield.
"I thought Chris and Bundee did incredibly well and they are two guys that can be physical when they need to be but also have the skills to back it up," he said.
"That kind of competition for places is brilliant. It means you can’t get comfortable or let up for one second.
"It brings the best out of everyone and ultimately benefits the group."
