Scots face O’Groundhog day
To this end he has nominated Johnny O'Connor as his Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog after whom the celebrations are named.
O'Connor was named on Tuesday in the number seven shirt for Ireland and justifying his selection over Denis Leamy the coach said he always had the Wasps flanker in mind for the game against Scotland.
"People would probably have a reason for criticising me if I didn't put a groundhog in against the Scots, and Johnny is that and more," O'Sullivan said, adding that while Leamy had a solid if unspectacular game against Italy in Rome last Sunday, he'd always felt the clash with Scotland was right up O'Connor's alleyway.
"It's not been a complete change of mind. It's probably the one area of the team where we can play horses for courses with the quality of players we have there," the coach said.
For O'Connor the news was obviously very welcome and is an opportunity he intends grabbing with both hands. He failed to make the squad travelling to Rome and had to return to England to come on as a sub for Wasps in their 29-28 defeat away to Newcastle at the same time the Irish were winning in Rome.
"This is obviously a big opportunity for me with the competition there is in the backrow in the Irish team right now and hopefully this is my chance," the 22-year-old said.
"I've played twice for Ireland, but this will be my debut in the Six Nations. It is a massive tournament and I've always wanted to play in it, but I've got to be realistic. My focus is completely on the Scotland game because I could be in this week and out the next. This is a chance to give a good account of myself."
O'Connor said he was never sure he was going to be picked to play in Edinburgh, simply that he's happy to have made the side and anxious to make the most of it.
"The coach picked me and has shown faith in me and all I want to do now is repay that faith. Sure I was disappointed not to have been selected for the Italian game but you can't dwell on these things and you have to move on. That's what I did. I played for my club last weekend and was focused on that."
O'Connor said professionalism has taught him a lot in this regard and has given him the ability to change focus when it comes to playing for club and country. "I have to focus on playing for Ireland now and there is no doubt Saturday's match against Scotland is going to be a tough game.
"The Scots played really well against France and I thought they were really unlucky in the end, so they're going to be fired up in front of their own crowd."
Unwilling to comment on the performance of the Irish backrow against Italy, other than to point out that the Italians are "no mugs" and represented a very physical challenge, O'Connor was more forthcoming about the wrongful yellow carding of his opposite number John Petrie in the game against France.
At a time when players are being targeted by the latest rule revisions in an attempt to clean up breakdown situations, O'Connor said Petrie was unfortunate to get be sin-binned at a crucial stage of the game for an alleged deliberate offside.
"In some ways the new rules might actually suit me a little bit more, but the thing is that you just have to get on with it. Sure there'll be incidents like the one John Petrie was binned for. That sort of thing happens all the time it happened to me just three weeks ago when I got sent off in the wrong.
"You might be disappointed when that happens but there's nothing you can do about it because sometimes you're penalised correctly and sometimes you're not. But I think in a situation where players are required to let go of the ball straightaway when they hit the deck, then there is going to be a lot more turnovers.
"But I will not know until the weekend if that suits me," he said, alluding to the fact that all the players are waiting to see how the referees implement the new rules.
Of the Scottish opposition, O'Connor maintains that while he is a novice international his club experience has seen him play against most of the Scottish players so they don't hold any mysteries for him.
He's played against the likes of Scottish blindside Jason White on many occasions "but not at this level of intensity" and regards him as a "very good player, a big hitter and a very physical player."
Having said that however, the Irishman insists that he's not really thinking about anything other than his own game and his desire to repay the faith the Irish management have shown in him.
"I've never actually played in Murrayfield and I'm looking forward to it immensely. But I want to play well and I know what the coach wants me to win a lot of ball on the deck, so I'll do everything I can to justify his faith in me."
He may not be Punxsutawney Phil but O'Connor is looking forward to a big groundhog day on Saturday.
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