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Dave Kilcoyne hopes Ireland can use their record loss to England as a World Cup cautionary tale.<\/p>\nDave Kilcoyne hopes Ireland can use their record loss to England as a World Cup cautionary tale.<\/p>\n
Ireland climbed to the top of the world rankings for the first time with Saturday\u2019s 19-10 victory over Wales to toast boss Joe Schmidt\u2019s final match in Dublin.<\/p>\n
Head coach Schmidt\u2019s men have hit back from their 57-15 humbling at Twickenham in August by beating Wales home and away, leaving Munster prop Kilcoyne boosted by that return to form.<\/p>\n
And now the 30-year-old front-rower has insisted Ireland must keep on using that hefty London loss to fuel their drive at the World Cup, with their Pool A opener against Scotland fast approaching on September 22.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we were poor against England, there\u2019s no point denying it, I thought we lacked hunger and physicality which was the most disappointing thing,\u201d said Kilcoyne.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve an incredible defense coach in Andy Farrell, we all knew our defense was off that day, but thankfully that\u2019s really picked up in the last two weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd hopefully we can bring that into the World Cup, and really bring that impressive defense into the World Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to be equipped to turn negatives into positives. You can\u2019t dwell on it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you keep looking back you\u2019ll never go forward and you get lost back there.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo after the England game it was about looking at where and why we were short, and putting a plan in place to remedy that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we did that well, and it feels we\u2019re building nicely now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rob Kearney, Tadhg Furlong and James Ryan all crossed as Ireland subdued Wales for the second time in as many weeks at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Schmidt has carried Ireland from eighth to first in the world rankings in his six years at the helm, transforming the national team into a genuine world threat.<\/p>\n
Former schoolteacher Schmidt will return to his native New Zealand after the World Cup, stepping down from his Ireland role to spend more time with his family.<\/p>\n
The 53-year-old will leave with every Irish plaudit already in the bag, and Leinster wing Jordan Larmour believes that all boils down to his fiercely intense attention to detail.<\/p>\n
Larmour was still a schoolboy the first time he met Schmidt, the Ireland boss turning up unannounced to watch the pacy wing feature in a Blackrock College President\u2019s XV clash against touring Kiwi side Hamilton Boys High School.<\/p>\n
St Andrew\u2019s College student Larmour guested for Blackrock that day, and had the honor of meeting Schmidt too.<\/p>\n
Fast forward less than two years and Larmour was being invited to train with Ireland\u2019s senior side having already stood out for the country\u2019s Under-20s.<\/p>\n
When Schmidt wants a player to emerge quickly, he leaves no stone unturned in helping accelerate that process.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first contact I had with him was when I was playing in that club match,\u201d said the 22-year-old Larmour, of Schmidt.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I went into the Ireland camp when I was in the Under-20s.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to put into words what he\u2019s given to Irish rugby. His attention to detail, his man management, it\u2019s incredible.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s one of the best coaches I\u2019ve ever had. So we\u2019re pleased with how we went against Wales.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing into camp, the attention to detail he has, going through the video and things, he\u2019s been amazing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to put in a performance for Joe (Schmidt) and Rory Best, they\u2019ve given so much for Irish rugby. So we\u2019re pleased with how it went.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re certainly pleased with the performance but we\u2019ve still got a lot to work on.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to keep on building. I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s our best performance of 2019, but it\u2019s a step in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n