CARDIFF – Ireland have opened their Rugby World Cup account with a convincing 50-7 win over Canada at Millennium Stadium.
It was a promising start by the Canucks with some enterprising play by their backline, however it was quickly undone by a yellow card to Clermont Auvergne’s Canadian captain Jamie Cudmore. And it was immediately capitalised on by an Ireland team hell bent on sending a warning to the rest of their Pool.
It’s fair to say that Ireland looked like a different outfit to the lethargic and lumbering team that lost to England at Twickenham a fortnight ago. And while they didn’t get all that much resistance from a Canada side that had flashes of brilliance at times that were all too fleeting, Ireland looked very solid at the set piece as well as at the break down.
Sean O’Brien, Peter O’Mahony and Jamie Heaslip were sharp at the break down and Johnny Sexton directed things well at 10 before being predictably substituted in the 54th minute after the game was well and truly won.
Canadian winger DTH van der Merwe scored a try against the run of play to get Canada on the board in the 68th minute but by then the game was well and truly lost.
Ireland Coach Joe Schmidt will be pleased with his team’s performance after comfortably seeing off their North American counterparts. And he wouldn’t have asked anything more from his team at the buzzing Millennium Stadium, particularly by how his players made their decisions and kept their composure. However the kiwi coach will know that there are a lot more tougher matches down the track.