Romanian coach says no need for O’Sullivan’s men to go on red alert
He said: “I don’t think Ireland will have a major problem if they play to their strengths. They should be much too good for Russia although everything may not be easy.”
Ireland head for Siberia on Thursday week and have, on the advice of the Romanian Rugby Federation, decided to charter a flight rath er than travel on scheduled services.
Federation president Octavian Morariu said: “I think for a team to prepare properly for a game so far away from home, they have to get to the venue as quickly and easily as possible.
“The one bit of advice we gave Ireland some months ago was to go on a charter from their own country and not risk facing long delays internally in Russia.”
Mr Morariu also believes Ireland will be too strong for both Russia and Georgia in the qualifiers.
“I think we did not see the best of Ireland against us but I think we can take credit for that. Ireland have lots more experience than Russia and I am sure they will benefit when Keith Wood returns. He is one of the best players in the world.”
Still, Morariu and all involved with the Romanian squad at Thomond Park on Saturday were pleased with the performance.
“We have come a good distance since we lost so badly to England a year ago. We continue to make progress and we want to go even further. We have a few injured players to come back and that will strengthen the squad.
“This match against Ireland has been a good exercise for us. It has shown that we are some way behind teams like Ireland but it was also encouraging to be able to play so well in the second half.
“With this game over, we must now concentrate fully on our World Cup qualifier with Spain on October 5. Our aim is to continue to improve but the short term goal is to qualify for the World Cup and we have to beat Spain. Nothing else counts at the moment.”
Irish coach Eddie O’Sullivan will seek to bring a more common sense approach to Ireland’s play in the coming weeks.
“Our aim was to go out there and hit the ground running but I thought we forced our play too much. We tried moves that weren’t really on and the mistakes followed as a result. We have got to be a bit more patient in our attempts to break down defences but that is something we can work on in the next couple of weeks.”
Happily, there were no serious injuries. O’Sullivan admitted he was worried when Brian O’Driscoll limped off in first-half injury time. The Irish coach said: “Th e news after the match was much better. He should be right in time for the Russian game.”
Flanker Simon Easterby took a heavy knock to the face but he too is expected to be in the shake up for a place in the side to meet Russia.
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