First call for second row

DONNCHA O’CALLAGHAN counts his blessings every time he looks at the CV of his international second row understudy.

O’Callaghan has leap-frogged over Malcolm O’Kelly this season, and the honour of being in the front line hasn’t escaped him.

Although he could now be termed a seasoned international with 28 caps, he is glaringly short of experience when compared with 81-cap veteran O’Kelly.

More than anyone, O’Callaghan realises that he has to be right on top of his game to keep the status quo — a second row partnership with his Munster colleague, Paul O’Connell.

“Mal is a record cap Irish international, he’s a two-time Lion. You’re not talking about an average player here, because this guy is world class.

“To hold him to a place on the bench is a huge honour, but you’ve got to be playing pretty well to keep him out of the side. That’s why there can’t be the slightest let-off in effort or form.”

O’Callaghan also observed that Ireland’s second-row resources were healthy. “With Malcolm O’Kelly on the bench, and three other boys knocking on the door, it shows the strength we have in the second row.

“There’s lots of competition, and that’s great because you have to play well week in, week out. The knowledge that a bad game or failure to put in the hard yards in training could work against your selection ensures that you will always want to give the full 100%.

“You have to work hard in every training session. Fellas on the bench are good enough to play in most teams and it’s healthy that you have to look over your shoulder,” he said.

He is full of praise for the way O’Kelly continues to offer the benefit of his vast experience, despite the disappointment of having to play second fiddle. “Before the game and at half time, he’s always there to offer advice on what to do, how to cope with the opposition, to tweak a couple of things if everything is not going to plan,” he said.

O’Callaghan is well aware that O’Kelly could be called upon for words of wisdom during tomorrow’s clash with Australia at Lansdowne Road.

Recalling Ireland’s struggle to get on top of the Aussies in June’s Test game in Perth: “Looking back, our line out wasn’t great, and Australia were able to disrupt us which was disappointing. If you asked me who are the best second rows in the southern hemisphere, I’d probably say New Zealand’s Chris Jack and Victor Matfield of South Africa, but Nathan Sharpe and Mark Chisholm are probably the best partnership. They’re aggressive in pursuit of opposition ball, and you’ve got to get the calls and timing right to avoid disruption.”

Yet, O’Callaghan backs Ireland to sort any such problems out.

“Sometimes you get bogged down trying to cover so many options and so many aspects of the game. Maybe we spend too much time organising rather than getting up in the air, and that’s the big thing this week; get all the homework done early in the week, and do the right things during the match.

“I suppose it’s a tribute to us, in a way, that they will want to come up with new options to knock us out of our stride, knowing that we can pose a threat in that area. Now, it’s up to us to turn the tables,” he said.

These are exciting times for Irish rugby as the squad continues to expand and develop new talents. O’Callaghan has special praise for one of the new boys — Bryan Young.

“You gain respect for guys when you play against them. The last three times Munster have played against Ulster, Bryan has been outstanding, and his form has continued through to the Heineken Cup.

“He has been blooded early; did well and pushed on. It’s great to see players of his calibre coming through. He is well capable of making an impact, because he has more than just scrumming ability. He has good ball handling skills, is a strong runner and he’s always around to compete at the breakdown.”

O’Callaghan’s recent burst of try-scoring for Munster has been a source of much amusement and banter in the provincial camp. Tongue in cheek, the second row will highlight the individual genius he displayed to make the scores; seriously he will admit to being in the right place at the right time.

He admitted: “I genuinely felt a bit guilty when I got a try off a maul against Bourgoin; if you look at the video you’ll see Strings (Peter Stringer) up the front of it piling into guys. I don’t think anyone should really celebrate maul tries, I’m just thankful for the work the seven guys in front of me did.”

Times have changed for Ireland, who went into last week’s clash with South Africa as favourites for the first time.

O’Callaghan accepts that players have to get used to the level of expectations.

He said: “We normally resent being favourites, but we took it on board last week and said ‘why not?’

“It’s easier to be the underdog, but sometimes you’ve got to stand up and tell yourself that you’re good, and that’s why we’re being made favourites.

“It’s maybe sometimes easier to motivate yourself when people are writing you off, but this team feels better now that we were able to stand up, accept the favourites tag and perform to a level that was good enough to secure a decent victory. We won’t get cocky. We’re not the finished article and we know how much work we have to do. But at least we’re making progress, and that’s what we want to continue to do, step by step by step.”