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A shot at redemption  Ireland’s
Six Nations campaign gets under way this weekend against Italy and for
captain Brian O’Driscoll it’s the perfect opportunity to finally
put his horrific World Cup experience to bed.
The boys in green endured a miserable tournament in France last Autumn,
struggling to beat minnows Namibia and Georgia before comprehensive beatings
by France and Argentina.
And as far as the Leinster star is concerned, the opportunity for redemption
begins on Saturday against the Azzurri.
“We can’t wait for the games to come along and get on to the
field in a green jersey again,” admitted O’Driscoll.
“It’s good for us that we have a Six Nations so soon after
the World Cup. It really gives us the chance to try and put things right.
“When we got home you could sense the depression around the country
because everyone had believed we could go very far in the competition
and maybe win it. But we never got off the ground.
“Now we have to put things right in the Six Nations and show we’re
still a force. We’ll be there or thereabouts in certain games and
hopefully it will come down to the final weekend with us in the shake-up.”
Meanwhile, Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan has vowed to “go
down swinging,” ahead of Saturday’s opener.
The Youghal native’s three Triple Crown successes have been overshadowed
by Ireland’s pitiful performance in the World Cup with O’Sullivan
admitting that he is under severe pressure ahead of the forthcoming championships,
with many predicting an end to his reign should Ireland not finish in
the top two.
“There’s more pressure on me now because we’ve come
off the back of a World Cup that wasn’t as successful as we’d
hoped it would be,” said the 49-year-old.
“Ultimately that doesn’t change my job — I don’t
start doing things differently because I’m under pressure. I’ll
do the same as I do every day. If all the talk is going to make you act
differently, then that’s a bad thing. You still have to be true
to yourself and back yourself to get the job done.
“I’m constantly trying to get better at what I do. I’m
always trying to be a better coach. That’s what drives me on.
“Coming off the World Cup and the disappointment, my reaction to
that is to be more determined, to fix this and meet it head on. I’m
pretty confident I can get it right.”
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