Challenging season ahead for O’Sullivan

AS approach routes go, Greystones to Lansdowne Road via Siberia is circuitous even by the low standards of Dublin’s traffic congestion.

Yet despite the demanding, and in some cases damaging, effects of last weekend's trek to Krasnoyarsk, Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan can still find a little humour in the experience as he turns his attention to tomorrow's Georgian challenge.

"The irony of it all," O'Sullivan said, "is we've now travelled further to play this game than Georgia have, which is a strange one. We're not really complaining, we're just recognising the fact that we knew it would be like this. But there's no doubt this has taken its toll and we knew it would.

"The guys are very tired, our sleep patterns are far from regular at the moment and the thing that's probably going to get us back to our best, if at all, is proper sleep. That's going to take another few days.

"In the meantime we've had to manage the players through that in terms of the workload and the time they spend on the field. It's a balancing act. If we overdo it, it won't help their recovery and if we under-do it we won't be prepared enough to play Georgia. So that is what this week has been all about, managing this situation and that's why we have a management team.

"The guys are very professional, they've been rehabbing properly, rehydrating and trying to get their fitness work in this week on top of training and top of recovering. It's an interesting cocktail but we were prepared for it and we're getting on with it."

Despite last Saturday's 38-3 win over Russia being less than favourably received in the media, O'Sullivan is upbeat about his side's display. "I was actually very happy with the performance. I knew we would struggle with the travel, the weather was a little bit hotter than we were told it would be it just happened to be a very hot day and the pitch was quite small. I think they were happy with that, playing in a smaller area and it turned into a bit of a slugging match. They had a very big, physical side, by and large bigger than us.

"The thing that pleased me most was that at no point did we panic. We kept our shape, kept plugging away and did a good professional job."

The unusual manner of this week's preparations mean a professional job is probably the best O'Sullivan and, indeed, Irish fans should hope for. "You're always striving to get a great performance but it's very early in the season for us," the head coach said. "By and large, when we play our first international of the season in the autumn, we've got a bank of inter-provincial games played and players have a lot of games under their belts and got their match fitness. We're still struggling with that, which is not unusual.

"The key thing on Saturday is to beat Georgia and book our place in the World Cup. If we bust out a big one and play exceptionally well then I'll be even happier. But at this point in the season with another 12 tests to go, we're very early in the year."

It is a long year. Following World Cup qualification, the next objective is the autumn internationals in November against Australia, Fiji and old foes Argentina. Then comes the Six

Nations followed by a summer tour with, catastrophe on Saturday providing, the World Cup in Australia this time next year. It is a campaign littered with potential peaks and troughs.

The question is, has the Irish coach made contingencies for those inevitable highs and lows in form, fitness, performance and injuries?

"With every match you are looking for the best performance you can deliver, but there will be other factors you can control that might mitigate against that; stuff like fatigue which will be an issue in the Six Nations because we're going to play five tests in seven weeks, which is unprecedented, injuries which you can't predict in key positions and the confidence of the players.

"At times they might struggle a bit based on how they feel they're going themselves and with their provinces. So with all of those things in the mix it means it's not very predictable. But sport isn't predictable and I think the better you manage that, the better chance you have of surviving it."

Managing a team through that sort of minefield is one thing, steering a safe course for yourself is another matter, although O'Sullivan resists any self-indulgence. "I think you just go on and do the best job you can do so players feel that you're supplying everything they need to have the best chance of performing well. Whether that's support systems, or whether it's coaching itself or managing their travel or managing their fitness and their fatigue; all those things have to be done.

"Of course, what is a big help is getting the rub of the green along the way, whether it is with injuries or the bounce of the ball on the odd day. If they go your way as well then, let's hope it works out really well."