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Rory Best hopes the \u201ckick in the teeth\u201d of record defeat to England can jump start Ireland\u2019s World Cup drive.<\/p>\nRory Best hopes the \u201ckick in the teeth\u201d of record defeat to England can jump start Ireland\u2019s World Cup drive.<\/p>\n
Ireland are settling into their Japanese surroundings ahead of their Pool A opener, the pivotal group-stage clash against Scotland in Yokohama on Sunday, September 22.<\/p>\n
Joe Schmidt\u2019s men were thumped 57-15 by England at Twickenham on Saturday, August 24 \u2013 but have shrugged off that record loss by beating Wales twice to climb to the top of the world rankings.<\/p>\n
The ever-candid Test captain Best has conceded Ireland let this year\u2019s Six Nations pass them by, as their Grand Slam defense ended in a mediocre third-place finish.<\/p>\n
Ireland looked far sharper and more aggressive in the 19-10 win over Wales in Dublin that closed their warm-up campaign, with key men Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton back in the groove \u2013 but Best has still demanded wide-ranging and rapid improvement.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes you need a moment where you have to reflect, and we probably let the Six Nations drift by, subconsciously, I think,\u201d Best told the PA news agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d talked about needing to do this and to do that, but sometimes you need a proper kick in the teeth to say \u2018whatever we think will happen won\u2019t just do so because we presume we\u2019re a good team, we need to just get back to and really re-establish our principles\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s about actually living them, not just talking about them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe made some progress in the games against Wales, but we\u2019re under no illusions we\u2019ve still got a lot of work to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can start focusing in on Scotland now and that\u2019s really exciting for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ireland\u2019s eight-try humbling at the hands of a rampant England sparked widespread concern on the chances of boss Joe Schmidt\u2019s side registering their best-ever World Cup return in Japan.<\/p>\n
Best\u2019s squad are the latest Irishmen bidding to move past the quarter-finals for the first time, and that 2018 Six Nations Grand Slam and the nation\u2019s maiden two wins over New Zealand have sent expectations soaring.<\/p>\n
Evergreen 37-year-old hooker Best was calm enough to shrug off criticism of his captaincy after a poor showing at Twickenham.<\/p>\n
And now the Ulster stalwart has accepted Ireland were always going to come under fire after that Twickenham hiding.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause we didn\u2019t perform anywhere near well enough against England you could argue that we brought it on ourselves,\u201d said Best.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you set a high bar and then don\u2019t reach it that draws a bit of heat and attention onto you.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a squad we had said \u2018we\u2019ll get it right at the World Cup\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you say that and then you\u2019re patchy enough against Italy \u2013 good at times but patchy overall \u2013 and then go and play like that against England, you\u2019re going to draw attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re never as good as people say you are, but the good thing is, you\u2019re never as bad either. You\u2019ll always sit somewhere in the middle.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we didn\u2019t get too carried away after the England game, and we\u2019ll not get too carried away now.\u201d<\/p>\n