Ireland primed for a final flurry

THE last throw of the dice for Ireland to prove they’re up there with the big boys.

Tomorrow night’s Test against Australia is about winning and proving that Irish rugby has come a long way in a short space of time.

When Ireland embarked on this tour coach Eddie O’Sullivan made it clear he would not be happy with anything other than one win from three games. He’s got nothing out of the first two, even though Ireland were horribly unlucky not to get at least one result against the Kiwis, so it’s all or nothing in Perth.

O’Sullivan has been lucky his limited squad has avoided injury and that he was able to pick from a full deck. That means that the likes of Anthony Foley and Alan Quinlan et al, have been consigned to a supporting role .

However, captain Brian O’Driscoll referred earlier in the week to the fact that he had never experienced such a positive mood in the Irish camp, even from those who never got a sniff of selection for the three tests.

“This group has knitted superbly together — sometimes you get it, sometimes you don’t. I don’t think anyone has been left out in the cold. Usually within a squad of this size, you get a couple of guys who get disillusioned and head off on their own tour, but that hasn’t happened this time around. It has been great.”

On the prospects of victory, he sent out a warning signal that Australia will be hard to break down and beat.

“I’m sure, having looked at the two games against England, the English will be disappointed at the way they played. But you play what’s in front of you, and Australia scored an average of 40-odd points against them. That’s a very impressive return against any England side.”

However, O’Driscoll was also encouraged that an understrength England side were able to expose the Wallabies in certain areas.

Even though Australia won both games in the comfort zone, O’Driscoll is convinced Ireland have the capacity and the talent to win. The men in green go into this game at the back end of a long but productive season, and that has been recognised by Wallaby coach John Connolly.

“We enjoyed beating England over the last couple of weeks, but Ireland have had a couple of fairly impressive warm-up games against the All Blacks. They performed pretty well, they have avoided serious injuries, and I’m sure they will give us a hell of a game.

“In the aftermath of the games against the English, it’s a long way away from where we want to be, but it’s a start,” said Connolly.

Eddie O’Sullivan admitted this week that it could all come down to superior defence, and Connolly ia agrees Ireland are good — very good — in that regard. “Ireland defend very well, they squeeze mistakes out of teams and make them pay for that.”

Meanwhile, Australian winger Mark Gerrard hopes for a more constructive game this week, basing his opinion on a helter-skelter series against England.

He said: “England did send out a very strong forward pack, but Ireland will pose a new challenge. Last week, I was running everywhere, not knowing what to expect. I reckon Ireland will be less ambitious in terms of what they will try to do, but that won’t make the challenge any easier.

“If anything, it will be more difficult, and I might find myself having to do as much running, because Ronan O’Gara is clearly the best kicking out-half in the world. He will try to pin me to the corner and force me to run back. I reckon it could be a fairly exhausting evening.

“Before John Connolly’s arrival, we tried to play a very structured game of football; now we’re given the latitude to try something different as circumstances allow. It’s pretty much about playing as we see it, and the games against England were interesting.”

From what he saw of the Ireland-New Zealand series, Gerrard was impressed with the men in green.

“I wasn’t at all surprised Ireland pushed the All Blacks, the only surprise was that they didn’t get the right results, or one right result anyway. I think they were quite unlucky.”

With Australia coming off the back of a hugely positive Socceroos performance in the World Cup in Germany, there is an air of optimism in the country. Ireland have not won here since 1979 when Ollie Campbell led the charge to control the first test and then secure victory in a closer call second time around.

Ireland thought the autumn game of 2005 was there for the taking, but they fell away and lost. They’re better now and they’ll have huge support from a big Irish community in Perth. Whether they’re good enough to beat one of the big guns remains to be seen.

I think they are.

* Connacht face a tough group in the European Challenge Cup, having been drawn yesterday in Pool 4 with Montpelier, Bath and NEC Harlequins.