|
Ireland show spirit  It
was an improvement but ultimately it was still a defeat. Ireland’s
rugby side finally showed some of the form that many expected of them
last Saturday in St. Denis but not before they attempted to replicate
their abysmal first-half performance of two years ago.
Trailing 26-6 after 52 minutes with hat-trick hero Vincent Clerc having
given the Ireland defence the runaround Ireland finally awoke. Yet it
was too little too late but on the plus side Ireland played like a real
team for the first time in nine games.
Ronan O’Gara was once again in fine form but struggled to hide his
disgust at yet another defeat on French soil.
“It was a game we left behind,” said O’Gara. “I’m
so disappointed. We knew if we could keep it to 13 at half-time we’d
beat them. But we ended up going in 20 points down at half-time. That’s
a big ask.
“In Munster I’m used to winning and I expected to win today.
From a personal and team point of view I’m disappointed. I hope
fellas aren’t happy with where they are inside there. At the end
of the day we were beaten again in Paris — that’s the bottom
line.”
Eddie O’Sullivan — under enormous pressure before the game
— handed Six Nations starts to Bernard Jackman and Jamie Heaslip
with the latter’s performance surely guaranteeing him the No. 8
shirt for years to come. Were it not for the final 22 minutes O’Sullivan
could have been collecting his P45 this week. Instead he now faces the
task of lifting his side and focussing them on capturing their fourth
Triple Crown in five years.
“I’m disappointed but very proud of the lads,” he said
afterwards. “They’re hugely disappointed now because they
realise that but for the bounce of the ball we might be celebrating a
great win now. I think we probably deserved to win the game but unfortunately
you don’t always get what you deserve.” |
