HEASLIP KEEN TO TOPPLE SPRINGBOKS
By DAIRE WALSH
LEINSTER may still be in contention for silverware in this season’s Guinness Pro12, but Jamie Heaslip already has one eye on Ireland’s summer tour of South Africa.
Joe Schmidt’s charges will be aiming to secure a first-ever away victory against the Springboks during the upcoming three Test series in June, and speaking yesterday at the launch of the Bank of Ireland Leinster Rugby Camps, Heaslip feels that Ireland are capable of making history.
“I don’t see any reason why not, would be my answer. They are a good team though. If you want to get into nitty gritty, they are a good team,” Heaslip remarked.
“We have never won down there. We’ve had some recent success alright against South Africa up here, but having played them down there in their back garden, they can be a different animal altogether.
“We had a 24-hour camp there in Enfield and to be honest they didn’t really even present a whole lot of information on them, because there is no point flooding with that kind of information with the way the league is panning out for everyone and the different permutations and stuff.”
Although Schmidt didn’t go into too much detail on South Africa at the Johnstown House training camp, it did present the Irish players with an opportunity to link-up with new Defence Coach Andy Farrell.
Heaslip revealed that Farrell played a major role in the 24-hour camp, and having worked with him during the 2013 Lions Tour to Australia, the 32-year-old is fully aware of what the Englishman can bring to the table.
“Obviously, we’d known him [Farrell] and those lucky enough to have been on that Lions tour were very excited when we heard the news,” he continued.
“He’s a very good coach and he’s a fantastic lad.
“He was showing us what he’s about. Different coaches have different words that they like to use within the system. Systems vary a little bit and he was just getting us on his page, using his language. That has been blended into what we have. It has been somewhat seamless.”
Leinster prop Jack McGrath joined Heaslip in St Mary’s national school, Ranelagh yesterday, and after a decidedly mixed Six Nations campaign, he believes it is important for Ireland to finish their season on a positive note.
“I think towards the end of the Six Nations is where we probably wanted to finish up, and we did. We finished on a positive note, and hopefully we can bring that over to South Africa,” McGrath added.
“For us as a squad, we’re going over and we’re aiming to win three tests. It’s not just making history by winning our first test over there. It’s winning a series over there. For us, it’s targeting the three tests.”