MX23RW : Thursday, March 28 20:55:56| >> :600:165210:165210:
[monks data]
Attendance: 11,130
Denmark national football team
Nations League | League Phase
Nov 19, 2018 at 7.45pm UK
 
Republic of Ireland national football team

0-0

FT

Republic hoping to draw inspiration from rugby team's heroics against All Blacks

Republic hoping to draw inspiration from rugby team's heroics against All Blacks
© Reuters
Martin O'Neill's side go into the clash with Denmark having won only once in the eight games

Martin O'Neill will send the Republic of Ireland out against Denmark on Monday evening hoping a little of the magic their rugby counterparts produced against the All Blacks rubs off on them.

The management team and the players watched on television from Aarhus on Sunday as Ireland laid down a marker for next year's World Cup by beating New Zealand in Dublin.

Asked if his players could take inspiration from that achievement as they attempt to win in the Nations League for the first time at the last attempt, O'Neill said: "The rugby team are brilliant, it's the strongest Irish side that I have ever known since I was growing up.

"No longer these days do you play international rugby and fade with 20 minutes to go, the lads are very, very strong.

"It's a totally different sport, of course. Yesterday was fantastic, absolutely fantastic to win, to beat the All Blacks. It's a major confidence boost for the World Cup coming up.

"But it's not that long ago since we were playing and enjoying ourselves (at the Euro 2016 finals) in France and trying to get to the play-offs in the World Cup."

O'Neill's Ireland have won only once in the eight games they have played since they were trounced 5-1 by the Danes at the Aviva Stadium in a World Cup play-off 12 months ago, although the manager has defended his team.

He said: "Since the World Cup match, we have played eight games, five of them friendly matches. If we were looking at decent stats and things, we wouldn't have chosen in recent times Turkey, Poland away, France – who went on to win the World Cup – away from home.

"We could confine ourselves to playing sides that might measure up to us, so those sort of things have never bothered me."

Seamus Coleman wants to end a difficult year for the Republic of Ireland on a high note (Niall Carson/PA).
Seamus Coleman wants to end a difficult year for the Republic of Ireland on a high note (Niall Carson/PA).

Nevertheless, skipper Seamus Coleman and his team-mates want to end a difficult year on a positive note as they attempt to book themselves some more big nights to match the Ireland rugby team.

Coleman said: "Look, it's two different sports, but last night we were massively inspired. They were wearing that green Ireland jersey and when they are wearing that, we are all together.

"But we have a job to do now. We have to put in a big performance for ourselves – but, as the manager says, we have had some big nights ourselves and we are looking forward to getting back to those big nights."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Damian Spellman, Press Association Sport, Aarhus');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '501533c3-05af-4e9b-b51c-e352338a6705');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Republic hoping to draw inspiration from rugby team\u2019s heroics against All Blacks'});

ID:341899: cacheID:341899:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7971:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Kasper Schmeichel in action for Leicester City on October 22, 2018
Read Next:
Giggs hopes Schmeichel can focus on football on return to Cardiff
>
Read more about Seamus Coleman Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!