We Need To Be More Clinical And Agressive – Monaghan

Ireland co-captain Sam Monaghan refelcted the disappointment of the team with the manner of their loss to New Zealand on Sunday.

“Look, as a squad, I know we’re quite disappointed in the scoreline. I don’t think it reflects the passion and pride we played throughout the game. Maybe not consistently.

“At times we had them under pressure and were on top, especially at the start of the first and second half, and if we had converted and got over the line it would have been a different game.

“We let them into the game and our errors gave them tries, so it’s how we manage our composure. That’s what we said against Spain and Japan as well, we need to manage those moments better and it could have been a different game.”

Asked about Ireland’s error count Monaghan added, “We know our errors let them into the game. “They’re a quality side. They’re world champions, so if you make an errors, they’re going to bounce back on top of that and punish you.

“We know going into next week we need to be more clinical. We can’t give away as many penalties and errors and we need to play on top more and be more aggressive in defence,”

Looking ahead to the quarter final against France Monaghan said the squad will throw everything at the game, “We’ve a quarter-final to go into and we’re doing everything in our power to win that game.

“We’re going to throw everything at that team who we’re playing, who is in front of us. We know we can’t make as many errors as we did today. We’ll analyse that game hard, but then leave it and go on to what faces us next Sunday,”