Catt official statement on Ireland-Scotland collusion talk before Pool B decider

Before the Pool B final, Catt dismisses claims of collusion between Scotland and Ireland.

South Africa might lose if the match has an unlikely result.

In order to eliminate South Africa from the Rugby World Cup, Ireland may team up with Scotland, according to assistant coach Mike Catt.

If Andy Farrell’s team loses or draws the crucial Pool B match at Stade de France, complicated permutations might be in play.

Both teams would advance to the quarterfinals while the defending champions would be eliminated with a bonus-point win for Scotland by a margin of at least 21 points and an Irish loss bonus point for scoring at least four tries.

After being questioned about the situation on Sunday following his team’s 49-18 victory over Tonga, Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber insisted that rugby is “clean” and dismissed a potential “match-fixing” conspiracy.

Catt claims that Ireland’s coaches are fully aware of the possibilities, but, unsurprisingly, he dismissed the idea that his team is “cahoots” with the Scots.

When questioned about Nienaber’s remark about match-fixing, he responded, “I don’t know what to say about that.

He didn’t actually say it was match-fixing, did he?
I believe he was asked the question, wasn’t he?

“That noise in the background is just white noise. No, we won’t work together with Scotland.

“First off, if you were to ask any of the players in this room, any of us, would we want Scotland to defeat us by 21 points, would we want that to happen? No, sorry,” said the player.

“Andy is aware of everything that is happening and what needs to be done.

The game must be won by both teams in the end.
You will put yourself in a good position if you do that.
We will make an effort to accomplish that.
“.

Following their 13-8 victory over the Springboks on September 23, Ireland has won a nation-record 16 consecutive games in addition to 12 of the previous 13 encounters with Scotland.

By winning against their Six Nations rivals once more, they would confidently advance as group winners from the so-called “Pool of Death” and put an end to any needless nail-biting.

Catt thinks the top-ranked team, which followed up its series victory in New Zealand last summer with a Grand Slam victory, is capable of handling the pressure.

The former England player, who helped his country win the World Cup in 2003, responded, “Yeah, very much so.

“I believe that the trip to New Zealand the previous year put us in those circumstances, and the Six Nations and winning the Grand Slam on the back of that with England and Scotland, those games.

It will be a proper Test match, and that is why we play the game.
If we perform well defensively and offensively, then there’s a chance that things will go our way.

The past is the past. From our vantage point, it has absolutely no bearing on the situation.

We’ve done a good job of preparing for this match, and after the South Africa match, we had the weekend off.
Now, we need to reach our full potential.

“We must ensure that we raise the bar even higher than against South Africa.
“.

Vice-captain James Ryan, who suffered a hand injury against South Africa, is part of Ireland’s fully healthy squad.

Leinster lock Ryan is doing fine and trained extensively with us this morning, so Catt was pleased with his development.

He apparently just received a knock to the hand.
He has recovered well from that.
“.