Ireland Rugby: McCloskey on 'Teething Problems' Ahead of Italy Clash

Dublin, Ireland - As the Ireland rugby team prepares to host Italy in the upcoming Six Nations Championship fixture, centre Stuart McCloskey has candidly addressed the team's recent performance issues, attributing them to the natural 'teething problems' that arise when a side attempts to evolve.

Following a disappointing opening loss to France in Paris, Andy Farrell's squad has undergone significant personnel changes, with only the midfield partnership of McCloskey and Garry Ringrose remaining intact from the previous outing. While new faces have been introduced across the back three, half-backs, and forward pack, the steadfast centre pairing is set to anchor the Irish attack once more.

Navigating Evolution and Early Setbacks

McCloskey, who will earn his 25th cap against Italy, acknowledged that the team's display in Paris was far from their best. "When any team tries to evolve, there's obviously a bit of teething problems," he stated in a recent interview. "I don’t think it was so much the attack, rather than more dropped balls. I think we maybe had about nine knock-ons."

He elaborated on the impact of handling errors, noting how they disrupt the team's rhythm and attacking flow. "I know the weather was greasy, but they made it look fairly simple at times. So I think it’s hard to get into your attack and really get any flow when there’s a lot of disjointed dropped balls."

Set Piece and Aerial Dominance: Areas for Improvement

While the set piece reportedly performed well, and the team secured possession, McCloskey highlighted a struggle in the aerial battle. "Set piece went well, we had ball there. We didn’t really get any balls back in the aerial game, which is what we sort of targeted early. And they did really well there, to be fair to them." He also noted France's effective back three, which presented significant challenges.

The centre admitted that Ireland's adaptation to these challenges may have come too late in the match. "I think we thought we could get after them, all three back-three for them did a great job. We had to adapt and probably left it a wee bit too late to adapt."

Re-establishing Irish Rugby's Identity

Despite the frustrating performance against France, McCloskey remains confident in Ireland's underlying game plan and identity. "I think we’ve got a pretty clear identity of what we’re trying to do," he asserted. "I don’t think we saw it the weekend at all, but I’d like to think you still see the shapes that we’re well known for over the last few years with the forwards getting a lot of ball in their hands and playing those out balls late at the line."

The primary issue, according to McCloskey, was the sheer volume of handling errors that led to a disjointed and uncoordinated appearance on the field. "But I think (against France), it was just handling errors more that led to probably looking pretty disjointed and not on the same page. Hopefully we’ll crack that this week, and it’ll look a lot better this weekend."

McCloskey's Confidence and Experience

Now 33, McCloskey has established himself as a solid and reliable option at inside centre, even with the continued competition from experienced players like Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw over the years. He expressed a high level of confidence in his own abilities and his place within the squad.

"I’d like to think I’m fairly confident anyway," McCloskey said when asked about his standing. "I don’t know if it’s my jersey or not but just the amount of time I’ve been here, competing with Robbie (Henshaw) and Bundee for that jersey, probably the guts of the last six or seven years. And at my age now, if you’re not confident in what you do, you probably shouldn’t be here. So yes, I’m fairly confident. I’d like to think I’m a confident player anyway. I’ll just try and take that into the games."

Looking Ahead: Italy and Beyond

The upcoming match against Italy is crucial for Ireland to get their championship campaign back on track. While Italy has a historically poor record in Dublin, they have shown significant improvement in recent years, including a notable victory over Scotland on the opening weekend of the championship.

"They’ve got so much better, and they have been doing that for the last few years, like beating Scotland at the weekend," McCloskey commented, acknowledging the threat posed by the Azzurri. He also looked ahead to the challenges beyond Italy, with a tough away fixture against England at Twickenham on the horizon.

The focus, however, remains firmly on rectifying the issues from Paris and delivering a performance that reflects Ireland's true potential against Italy. The team's ability to overcome these 'teething problems' and re-establish their attacking cohesion will be key to their success in the remainder of the Six Nations.