Greg: No more Arg luck tales
BY DAIRE WALSH
USA ASSISTANT coach Greg McWilliams believes Joe Schmidt has absorbed the harsh lessons of the 2015 World Cup quarter-final defeat to Argentina.
The squad has been significantly revamped since then and McWilliams said “I think one of the main performance indicators for Joe would have been to increase the size of his depth from the last Rugby World Cup.
“You saw when they had injuries in key positions, how that strength was tested. He’s done a terrific job, using a lot of players between the last World Cup and this one.
“The players that are going to go in against us, whether they’re front-line players on paper or not, it’s still going to be the exact same horses coming at us. They’re a terrific group of players and that’s what makes it so challenging and exciting.”
Before making his Stateside move in 2014, McWilliams was heavily involved in coaching at St Michael’s College. The south Dublin school is well-represented within the current Irish set-up by the likes of James Ryan, Dan Leavy, Luke McGrath and Ross Byrne.
“I first coached Luke when he was 12 years of age. I would have coached Dan from a very early age as well. They’re getting terrific coaching at Leinster and they’re big men now,” the Dubliner added.
“I got a chance to catch up with James Ryan on Tuesday. He’s still so humble. Still the exact same James that I knew many years ago.
“That’s the really pleasing thing for me, the mark of the man, more so than the rugby player.”