Marc Bazeley
@MarcBazeley
Irland og Libanon møter hverandre i en gruppe C-kamp som er sentral når det gjelder begge lags håp om å nå knockoutstadiene; Wolfhounds hovedtrener Ged Corcoran spilte da sidene kjempet uavgjort 16-16 i en blåmerkekamp til VM for 15 år siden
Sist oppdatert: 21/10/22 17:09
Deja vu, historien gjentar seg – uansett hva du vil kalle det, føler Ged Corcoran det helt sikkert mens Irland forbereder seg på nok et viktig Rugby League-VM-oppgjør med Libanon.
Den tidligere andre rekken husker godt å spille i 2007-møtet mellom lagene i Dewsbury, hvor uavgjort 16-16 i et brutalt møte med mange høye taklinger – hvorav den ene landet Libanon-propellen Charlie Nohra i syndeboksen – viste seg nok til å kvalifisere seg. irene til neste års verdensmesterskap i Australia.
Søndag fornyer Wolfhounds og Cedars fiendtlighetene i Leigh Sports Village, der en seier kombinert med New Zealand som slo Jamaica dagen før ville sende Irland inn i knockout-fasen.
Libanon vet i mellomtiden at et nytt nederlag vil gjøre slutt på håpet deres om å kvalifisere seg etter at de ble slått 34-18 av kiwiene i første runde av gruppe C-kamper forrige søndag, og den irske hovedtreneren Corcoran stålsetter laget sitt for nok et brennende møte.
“Det er mye fiendskap mellom oss og Libanon, helt tilbake til da jeg spilte i 2007 i kvalifiseringen vår da vi spilte dem på Dewsbury,” sa Corcoran PA.
“Det var mye vondt blod før kampen, mye vondt blod i kampen, og så veltet det tydeligvis over etter kampen.
“De er desperate, det er deres store finale. De konkurrerte med New Zealand, men de er desperate etter å komme til kvartalene.”
Uansett hvilken fiendskap det er eller ikke er mellom de to lagene, ser Corcorans motspiller Michael Cheika bare frem til utfordringen som venter Libanon etter å ha vært fornøyd med det han så fra laget sitt mot New Zealand til tross for det tapet.
Hvis Libanon skulle komme seg videre til knock-out-stadiene, ville den nåværende hovedtreneren for rugbyunionen i Argentina stå overfor utsiktene til å måtte kombinere sine to roller samme helg, med Cedars mest sannsynlig å spille i fredagens kvartfinale. i Huddersfield 4. november og Pumas mot England på Twickenham to dager senere.
Men foreløpig tenker han ikke lenger enn det må vinne sammenstøtet med Irland.
“Jeg tror det er det fine med å være i verdenscupen, jeg tror for all del at det er en knockout-konkurranse,” sa Cheika Fox League.
“Å ha muligheten til å spille mot New Zealand i runde 1, jeg føler at vi setter oss veldig bra, når du snakker om selvtillit fra den kampen handler det mer om troen på at du kan gjøre noe mot det nummer 1-rangerte laget.
“Irland vil by på en stor utfordring for oss, de har åpenbart noen gode spillere og jeg vet at alle snakker om Luke Keary, men det er noen andre spillere der.”
I likhet med Cheika, hvis foreldre emigrerte til Australia fra Libanon på 1950-tallet, har Sydney Roosters halvback Keary grepet muligheten til å representere sin familiearv ved å velge å spille for Irland, etter å ha opprinnelig tenkt å gjøre det ved det siste verdensmesterskapet for fem år siden .
Skader frarøvet ham muligheten til å gjøre det, men 30-åringen gjorde en umiddelbar innvirkning i sin første kamp ved å vinne kampens spiller-utmerkelse da Irland beseiret Jamaica 48-2 i Leeds sist søndag.
“Det skulle ikke være i 2017, men det er noe som har kommet i lang tid, og det betyr så mye for meg og familien min,” sa Keary, hvis irske aner stammer fra farens side.
“Jeg ble litt emosjonell da jeg endelig fikk se trøya med navnet mitt på. Jeg har hatt noen ganske spesielle opplevelser, men det er et av de stolteste øyeblikkene i karrieren min.”
Keary er en av fem NRL-spillere i troppen – seks, hvis du inkluderer Huddersfield Giants-bundne Harry Rushton – som har lagt til et lag som allerede inneholdt mye talent fra Betfred Super League.
Før turneringen hadde Corcoran satt å nå kvartfinalen som et minimumsmål for Irland, og selv om han ikke vil være fornøyd bare med å oppnå det, vet han at de først må slå Libanon for å få det til før han møter verdens nr. 1 New Zealand i deres siste gruppespill 28. oktober.
“Vi må komme til kvartfinalen for å fortsette å overgå forventningene våre,” sa Corcoran. “Jeg er ekstatisk over hvor vi er på og utenfor banen. Det gjør det mye lettere når du har gode folk.”
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