Rugby World Cup 2019: Discipline in defence Ireland's top priority against Russia

Three of the four offside calls against Ireland were apparently wrong. That hasn't stopped Ireland from making sure the chances of being whistled offside again in the Rugby World Cup are slim. Ireland coach Joe Schmidt said World Rugby admitted to the referee errors after they lost to Japan 19-12 last Saturday. Schmidt knew his defence was coached better than that, and defence coach Andy Farrell said on Wednesday, the day before Ireland's third pool match against Russia in Kobe, that they've had extra instruction to make sure, above all, that they adapt to referee Jerome Garces. "The only point Joe was trying to make yesterday is that we're a disciplined side — we pride ourselves on our discipline massively," Farrell said. "We don't want to go back into ourselves. You've got to adapt and have a no-excuse mentality." The rugby league great added: "We've been practicing rugby league this week by going back 10 meters so we're not offside. We can't let that affect ourselves. All we can do is make sure we're disciplined, and we want to show that on Thursday night." Farrell said Ireland's defence overall against Japan wasn't good enough, mainly due to Japan's strong play. He was proud, though, of winger Keith Earls chasing back to make a try-saving tackle on Kenki Fukuoka right near the end and preserve Ireland a bonus point. He said Irish ambitions of winning the Rugby World Cup were far from extinguished. He pointed to England, a team he was previously involved with, reaching the 2007 final after a hammering from South Africa in the pool stage; of France reaching the 2011 final after a pasting from New Zealand in the pool stage; and South Africa reaching the 2015 semifinals after the historic loss to Japan. "You can use a setback in the right manner," Farrell said. "After a couple of days of understanding the reasons why, we're in good spirits, back on track and ready to prove a point. The feeling in the camp is one of wanting to put things right on the pitch on Thursday night. That can't come quick enough." Meanwhile, hot, humid weather in Japan has left players struggling to catch even the simplest of passes but Georgia captain Merab Sharikadze hopes practicing with a ball dunked in soapy water will help them get to grips with the conditions. With Wales and Australia not in action on Thursday, Georgia can go top of Pool D with a bonus-point victory over Fiji, though in reality they are probably playing for third place and the reward of an automatic berth at the World Cup in 2023. The Georgians have yet to score a big win over a top tier nation in the same vein as Japan's stunning victories over Ireland and South Africa at the last two tournaments but they are keen to show the world how much they have improved. Beating two-times quarter-finalists Fiji, on the back of Georgia's impressive five-try victory over Uruguay, would do just that, but Sharikadze said they had to be wary of the Pacific islanders' pace and dynamism. "We know the Fijians are very good with the ball so what we expect is they'll run the ball a lot, probably a lot of offloads," he said on Wednesday. "They'll try to keep the ball alive as long as possible so we must be ready for that." That approach will be in stark contrast to the Georgian brand of rugby, which leans more toward the brute force of forwards than the fleet-footedness of the backs. Throwing the ball across the backline might not the best strategy at the Hanazono Rugby Stadium, where the humidity will draw buckets of sweat from the players and turn the ball into a greasy bar of soap. "We haven't done it in Japan but we did it in preseason," Sharikadze said, turning to coach Milton Haig to offer an apology for divulging a training secret. "The coaches used to put the ball in water with soap and we used to train with that. Hopefully that slippery soap and water will help us now."

Rugby World Cup 2019: Discipline in defence Ireland's top priority against Russia

Defence coach Andy Farrell makes minor adjustments, Georgia train with wet ball to prepare for sweltering conditions against Fiji