Leinster’s knockout failures set a worrying precedent for Ireland’s RWC campaign

Ireland's RWC campaign is currently avoiding pressure in favor of its safety net as the underdog. Ireland became become a mental monster, much like Jurgen Klopp's Premier League title Liverpool squad. So you can imagine how uncomfortable Farrell must have felt at the Aviva Stadium when he saw Leinster blow a 17-0 lead over La Rochelle.

A Champions Cup final and a Rugby World Cup quarterfinal take place in very different contexts, as the gracious winning head coach of La Rochelle Ronan O'Gara reminded.

However, this is virtually the same set of players who have already lost back-to-back Champions Cup finals as well as back-to-back United Rugby World Cup 2023 Championship semi-finals. Second-row Ross Molony was the only non-full-fledged Irish international in the Leinster starting XV.

How is it possible for the Rugby World Cup players to remain doubtless?

Any time they've had those pressure-cooker moments over the past couple of years, it hasn't gone their way," former Leinster and Ireland No. 8 Jamie Heaslip remarked on RTE. When Ireland's Rugby World Cup quarterfinal record is brought up, it's impossible for doubt to not start to seep into those same players' heads.

which, over the next three months, it will do repeatedly. For the record, the results are Wales 2011, Argentina 2015, New Zealand 2019, France 1995, Argentina 1999, France 2003, Australia 1987, and Australia 1991. In 2007, they failed to advance past the group stage.

This is crucial. Ireland's RWC campaign has triumphed in many significant games under Farrell, but aside from the Rugby World Cup 2023, no contest can compare to the intense pressure of a knockout game. There are perhaps thirty caveats that one may associate with Leinster's loss.

The biggest change was likely the absence of fly-half Johnny Sexton, who nevertheless made his presence known by berating the officials.

Ireland's RWC team has astounding depth in all bar the fly-half position.

Ross Byrne, who twice missed the posts with his conversion attempts, made few mistakes, but Sexton has precisely the monster mindset Leinster required in the last period to cross the finish line. With only five minutes left with Sexton on the pitch, it is difficult to believe that Leinster would not have planned for the goal that was missed.

But even this presents a problem for Farrell. Except for fly-half, where Sexton is recovering from a groin tear, Ireland has startling depth at almost every position. This would not be a concern if Sexton did not have such a troublesome injury history. Ireland's 2015 season was disrupted by yet another groin injury to Sexton. Eight years later, he is essentially the same. RWC 2023 fans can buy South Africa Vs Ireland Tickets from our website. Maybe Leinster's defeat will give Farrell's strong motivating abilities a boost. Despite Ireland's RWC campaign success under the Englishman, they still have to overcome the quarterfinal hurdle. When you consider that Ireland will likely face New Zealand or France in the round of eight, that bump turns into a hill.

The hill appears to be a mountain after Leinster's loss in yet another crucial quarterfinal game. Irish Rugby World Cup officials put forth a lot of effort in their physical and mental training for RWC 2023 duties. With the help of former Dublin Gaelic football player Kevin McManamon, they focused on performance mentality.

Referee Andy Brace, assistant referee Chris Busby, and television match officials (TMOs) Brian MacNeice and Joy Neville, Ireland's RWC campaign four officiating representatives for the upcoming Rugby World Cup 2023 in France, discussed a variety of topics, including working with former Dublin Gaelic footballer Kevin McManamon.

McManamon (KevMc Performance), a high-performance coach and sports psychology consultant for a variety of sports, previously worked with the rugby side that won the 2019 under-20 Grand Slam and expanded his scope to include Irish Rugby World Cup, top referees.

Kevin came in and began working with us at the beginning of the year, which is a wonderful indication of the assistance and growth we receive, according to Chris Busby. We're searching for methods to get better and perhaps implement standards similar to those used by professional players.

He helps with that kind of performance attitude, which is a breath of new air. How we handle situations both on and off the field, including reviewing, making decisions, and attempting to move on to the next choice. He's been great for our team over the past six months, in my opinion.