Some intriguing Rugby World Cup stats have been doing the rounds today on social media, with Ireland being a clear outlier.
What they show is the minutes played so far in the tournament, by each player that has made it to the quarter-finals this year.
Unsurprisingly, given that Andy Farrell has picked close to his strongest team in each game, many in the Ireland squad have racked up a fair amount of minutes.
For example, New Zealand's most played player - Sam Whitelock with 242 minutes - would only come in at ninth in Ireland's list.
Have Certain Ireland Players Played Too Many Minutes At The Rugby World Cup
The question is, could this Ireland team suffer a burnout in the knock-out stages, or will the continuity, especially against top sides such as South Africa and Scotland, see them better prepped than their opponents?
While it remains to be seen, Andy Farrell and his backroom team will have planned the players' minutes meticulously, and the players themselves will be in peak physical condition, helped along by world class coaches.
Indeed, the All Blacks themselves could be b0th tired and undercooked at the same time, having played the Rugby Championship in July, while also not having faced top opposition since their game against France over a month ago.
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Will Ireland Begin To Wear Out At The Rugby World Cup
This one been doing rounds..
playing minutes for the 1st XV's of the Top 4 in the world cup so far.
the debate will be , is a lot of minutes good or bad 🤔
one thing, Irish now starting to see some niggles.. pic.twitter.com/eh18c6YdEw
— Oom Rugby (@Oom_Rugby) October 11, 2023
Really interesting to see how this goes for Ireland. They could be priming at the right time or tire at the wrong. You’d think with the central contract system we have in place though that these players should only be getting fitter as throughout a year they play so few club mins
— Anton Patrick (@anton941111) October 11, 2023
Oom, do you think that the fact that a lot of the Leinster players don’t often play many games week after week (many seem to only play the “big” games) will have an impact on their performance come the latter part of this tournament?
— Daniel Francis (@DanielF0208) October 11, 2023
Ireland really needed to rest more players against the likes of Tonga and Romania
— Tom Courtney (@Tom_Courtney_7) October 11, 2023
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READ HERE: 'The New Zealand Thing Hasn’t Been Mentioned. They Are Part Of Our Irish Team'
Ahead of Ireland's clash with New Zealand, captain Johnny Sexton spoke to the press and discussed the meaning of the match, and how Ireland might overcome their poor record in Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
“I haven’t thought once about personally what the game means. It’s all about the team, it’s nothing personal. I’ve had some great battles against New Zealand over the years, with Ireland and the Lions. What you learn is every game is as tough as the last. That’s what we’re preparing for, the toughest game we have ever faced, and we are trying to put ourselves in the frame of mind that we are going to be ready for it.”
“We have worked on our mental game for the last four years and put ourselves in different scenarios to prepare for this. Each quarter-final, or where we haven’t got through our pool, have all been different, and it’s a different group again. Each of those groups lost once. It wasn’t the same group losing quarter-finals year and year. If it was club rugby it might be different but I don’t think we are carrying much baggage. It is a one-off game and we have got to prepare for now.”
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