 France test Ireland’s resolution
BY LARRY COONEY
France
Ireland
February 11 Stade de France
KO 1.30pm
However he may look at certain positions and Andrew Trimble
might be introduced at some stage of the game on the wing.
Reshuffling the back-row is also a possibility. Keith Gleeson could
certainly get the nod if this were the case because there was a distinct
lack of continuity at ruck time which led to ineffective link play between
the backs and forwards against the Italians.
Many also claim that David Wallace is not a natural number seven but on
recent form alone he deserves his place possibly at No. 8 or No.6. But other
than that O’Sullivan will probably keep the same players involved.
One of the few positives from last Saturday’s game was the welcome return to
form of Paul O’Connell. However his second-row partner Malcolm O’Kelly was
well below his best and could struggle to retain his place. Otherwise the
Ireland side to face the French looks quite predictable.
Hopefully the below-par performance against Italy will have the desired
wake-up call as the whole Irish team will realise there’s room for vast
improvement in all positions.
They’ll also know that it was the first game and although they played well
below the required standard they survived against an improving Italian team
that has already defeated Argentina.
Ireland’s record on French soil speaks for itself but that should be no
reason to be pessimistic about Eddie O’Sullivan’s team’s chances on
Saturday.
The widespread calls for improvement from captain Brian O’Driscoll to Lions
winger Shane Horgan are sure to have a positive effect while the French
team’s confidence is sure to be affected following their defeat by Scotland.
The Irish squad are sure to look at a number of areas this week where
improvement will be required and hopefully their talented backs will be able
to get more involved than they were against the Italians. Shane Horgan
agrees that a poor start last Saturday was responsible for Ireland’s dismal
display.
He said: “We just didn’t fire as early in the game against Italy as we
wanted to, and sometimes that sets you on a path you don’t want to go down.
We got to grips with it more in the second-half and the fact that we
did grind out a result when we didn’t play so well is a positive.”
The ferocity of the Italian tackling and desire to move the ball wide also
caused O’Sullivan’s side plenty of problems while up front they were even
more formidable and uncompromising.
It is therefore vital that Ireland seize control of the forward battle early
in Saturday’s game if they are to build a platform for their three-quarters
to create openings in the French defence. Much was made of the Irish
provinces’ recent Heineken Cup performances ahead of the Italian game but
Horgan admitted that international rugby is much tougher.
Horgan said: “The intensity of that match was a step up from the Heineken
Cup. I have to get used to that. It was a tough and uncompromising game.
Italy closed down the space very well in the backs and made it hard for us
to get good go-forward ball.
“But you have to play around that. From a forwards point of view, there is a
lot of hard work to be done between now and France. We need to look at our
scrums and line-outs. There’s room for improvement.”
Ireland need a big performance in Paris this Saturday in order to restore
their rating as credible championship contenders.
However not even a vastly improved performance may be sufficient to overcome
a France team with long-term ambitions of winning next year’s World Cup.
Form therefore points to a narrow French victory.
Verdict: French narrow win
|
