Caelan Doris can see Joe Schmidt's dabs all over Ireland 'culture' and 'work ethic' but says tactics have evolved
Ireland need to fear Wallabies attack in particular
Caelan Doris admits that Ireland-Australia has its own set of complications this afternoon.
The match comes in the wake of an opening loss to the All Blacks and an, in-part, poor display but a win over Argentina.
An eight-try thumping of Fiji got Ireland into credit as far the November Series was concerned but given there is a fourth match, there is a need to win and avoid being pulled back to 2-2.
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Moreover a second loss would not be ideal in the face of losing Andy Farrell to the Lions and with the first of the 2025 Six Nations games, away in Scotland, just 12 weeks down the line.
“Yeah, it’s huge," says Doris of today''s encounter. "Like, the first meeting when we came in this Autumn was about continual growth and improvement and players trying to take it to another level.
“Other teams are getting better. We’re not playing South Africa but you can see their improvements over the year and we need to be doing the same.
"I think the first-half against Argentina we maybe showed that, showed that at times last week too, but we definitely need to show it again this week.”
Doris doesn't see Joe Schmidt as the big, bad wolf, Ireland's game has 'evolved' from where he left off post RWC-2019 albeit Ireland's 'culture' and 'work ethic', as put in place by the New Zealander, has carried through.
“I think that's fair, the level of analysis he did was extremely, extremely in-depth. He knew everything about every opposition player.
"I didn’t have too many direct dealing with him, but I think he was pretty obsessed.
"I think if you want to be world class in any domain, you need to be pretty obsessed with it. You need to be working extremely hard, getting every one percent you can.
"Whether it be in how you analyse opposition, how you train, how you recover, all these little bits. I think Joe raised the bar across the board in terms of professionalism within the game in Ireland.”
This may be something Schmidt has been working hard on with the Wallabies since his first game in charge, last July 6, but it is just one of the many parts of their game that needed boosting.
"I think they’ve definitely improved a lot over the last season and what they’re producing on the field has been good over the last few weeks and months.
“Their attack is probably their key weapon. They’re very passionate about their attack. If you lose concentration for a second, if you're a little bit reactive or miss a moment, they can score a try, 100 percent.
“Joe Schmidt has come up with some classic strike plays in breaking teams down in a number of phases, but they’ve got threats throughout.
"They can go wide where they have been impressive with their carrying. They can be very direct, especially in and around the ruck. They will have lots of players there so it's going to be important to be switched on all the time."
Moreover as a back-row Doris sees this specific Wallabies back-row as a threat.
"Yeah, Harry Wilson is obviously their captain, he's a pretty talismanic figure for them.
"Fraser McReight is class at no7, I think he's got a pretty varied skill-set, lots of turnovers. Seems like a very good, he's kind of Michael Hooper-esque, I think, as a player.
"And then Rob Valentini, a very hard runner, big physical presence, hits hard. I remember tackling him here back in 2022. He's a proper big man, like I said, he's a hard man to take down. So, yeah, we'll have our hands full with the three of them."
And perhaps overshadowing all of this, there is the idea it's Andy Farrell's last game with Ireland until the November Series 2025.
"I haven't thought too much about it to be honest with you but, definitely, I'd have a lot of faith in the other coaches here.
"Like, Faz is unbelievable, and when you've got such a big figure leaving you think there would be a void, but it doesn't tend to happen, I know from the likes of Johnny Sexton and Keith Earls leaving, it kind of gets filled.
"Of course you miss them, but the void gets filled by other people stepping up and the load being spread across the group a little bit more.
"I'm not sure how it's going to work but there's definitely a lot of trust in the other guys as well."
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