Former Munster coach Rob Penney spoke to Eoin Sheahan in Japan about Ireland’s ‘underdog’ psyche in rugby.
While the national team have been very successful in recent times Penney still believes that Irish people are uncomfortable with being seen as favourites.
“The Irish psyche is such that it’s built around, I guess, the passion. But the passion generally is built on the negative aspects of life. You know, the underdog characteristic.
“They came into this tournament as the world’s top-ranking [side] and that probably didn’t rest easy with a few. And that’s a learning. That’s a massive learning,” Penney said.
The New Zealander felt that dealing with being a top-ranked side has played havoc with Ireland’s mind-set and that other teams have used that to disrupt them.
“Steve Hansen obviously alluded to that by throwing a few grenades in about, you know it’s a different pressure being number one.
“So all those subtle little nuances create a degree of pressure. I’m sure though that they are dealing with it internally and they’ll put that behind them.
“There’s enough talent in there to get back on track. They’ve got two games there that they really should win convincingly now and get that confidence level back,” Penney commented.
While Penney didn’t exactly recommend teams portraying themselves as underdogs, he did see some possible benefits in adopting that identity.
“Look, [Ireland] is a fantastic little country. It’s a lot like New Zealand in a lot of ways. It’s almost like small-man syndrome.
“You want to be the underdog and I guess it gives you a bit of motivation in a negative context.
“I do believe that there are some benefits in playing for the love of the game and the expression that allows,” Penney said.
Penney has managed the Shining Arcs in the Top League in Japan since leaving Munster but will take on a new role as head coach of the NSW Waratahs next year.
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