Soul-searching for O’Sullivan in lead-up to Six Nations

THE past nine months have been hugely positive for Irish rugby.

Defeat by France on the opening day of the Six Nations was followed by four wins in a row and a Triple Crown.

There followed a couple of hiccups in South Africa in the summer but these have been avenged to some extent by the long awaited victory over the Springboks a few weeks ago. That was the first of three worthy victories in the autumn internationals.

Now we can look forward to a couple of soft touches away to Italy and Scotland at the beginning of the new Six Nations, all eventually culminating in a first Grand Slam since 1948.

Wishful thinking? Or a likely scenario for Eddie O’Sullivan’s Irish team as they take time off for a couple of months to concentrate on the Heineken Cup and the Celtic League? Only time will tell.

We will hear the usual noises come late January about how we must treat Italy in Rome on February 6 and Scotland the following Saturday with the greatest respect.

In truth, however, they should just be the hors d’oeuvres.

If anything, John Kirwan’s Italy will probably provide tougher opposition than Matt Williams’s Scotland, who plumbed new depths when thrashed by South Africa at the weekend.

Any sympathy directed from this country towards the former Leinster coach and the game in Scotland in general might well be regarded as presumptuous and disrespectful, given that they provided us with so many problems throughout the 1980s and 90s but the advent of professionalism has had a disastrous effect on the game in Scotland.

Even though the games are in Rome and Edinburgh, it’s a certainty that Ireland will progress to February 27 and the visit of England to Lansdowne Road with a 100% record, and the nation in a fair old lather of sweat.

The rationale will be that anything achieved at Twickenham 12 months previously can be replicated on home soil.

It is true, furthermore, that England’s star has been on the wane since Australia 2003, although it would be pure folly to write them off. Ireland had to play out of their skins to squeeze past South Africa; England beat them out of sight.

True, the world champions lost to Australia on Saturday last, but they scored three smashing tries to redress a 12-point imbalance and it’s a match they will feel they had in the bag. Lansdowne Road or not, Eddie O’Sullivan’s men will be up against it.

The coach admits his squad is far from “the finished article” and he has a lot of soul-searching to do.

He will surely dispense with the bizarre notion of playing Geordan Murphy at full-back with Girvan Dempsey on the wing, if only because by then Gordon D’Arcy should be fit to resume his centre partnership with Brian O’Driscoll. In that event, Shane Horgan will switch to the wing with Murphy reverting to his best position at number 15.

How he would like to have similar options in the front-row of the scrum.

Marcus Horan remains a viable option to Reggie Corrigan at loose head, but it’s a different case at number three. It may be argued John Hayes hasn’t been making quite the impact of old at tight head, yet it is absolutely imperative that he should avoid injury.

The alternatives? There aren’t any.

The second-row is most certainly a fertile area with Paul O’Connell getting better with every outing. Malcolm O’Kelly has also been highly impressive.

Leo Cullen and the forgotten man, Mick O’Driscoll, now with Perpignan, should be in the picture if the worst comes to the worst.

The back row represents a real headache for the coach.

Johnny O’Connor is in favour at number seven but for many he lacks the physical requirements, and significantly he has been substituted in his two internationals to date. O’Sullivan is too loyal to admit as much but he obviously has serious doubts about him.

Anthony Foley is secure at number eight, Simon Easterby virtually the same at number six. Where does that leave a whole string of outstanding back rowers, Alan Quinlan, David Wallace, Denis Leamy, John O’Sullivan, Roger Wilson, Neil McMillan, Eric Miller and Aidan McCullen? Way off the pace if indications are reliable.

While O’Sullivan is well entitled to be pleased with the progress, it won’t be just England on February 27 and France on March 12, both at Lansdowne Road, that will trouble us most.

Resurgent Wales at the Millennium Stadium on March 19 could be a real banana skin.

Their improvement under Mike Ruddock bodes well for another memorable Six Nations in 2005.