O’Connell looking forward to ‘weird’ Ravenhill experience
Normally, O’Connell wouldn’t be the flavour of the month when donning the Munster jersey against Ulster at Ravenhill, as passionate a place in its own right as Thomond Park.
“It’s going to be a bit weird to have people cheering you instead of jeering you, but I always liked the place despite the stick we had to take in my couple of visits to the ground,” he said.
He admitted that he looked forward to the experience and said the weather conditions over the last few days of training in Belfast had helped. “We came from down south where the weather should have been better to find it was better up here. It allowed us continue to build on the progress we felt we had made in France last week. A change of surroundings and good weather makes a difference,” he said.
O’Connell is in his second World Cup and is now charged with serious duties in the absence of the injured Brian O’Driscoll. It is, though, a role that he won’t wish to walk away from.
“I’m comfortable with it; it’s unfortunate that Brian got injured, but this is very much a team thing. From four years ago, when we lost to Australia in a game we should have won, we have come a long way. I think in the same circumstances we would win that game now,” he said.
But despite the hype, O’Connell is well aware of the landmines that lay ahead in the form of France and Argentina. “Each of the three teams can beat one another; then it might be decided on points difference. It’s going to be really tough,” he said.
France, he suggested, are peaking at the right time, having beaten England in successive weeks. “If that’s the kind of form they’re in, given that they are also the host nation, and we’re going to find it very tough against them. Hopefully, with three games under our belts and assuming that we don’t pick up any serious injuries, I would be pretty confident that we can hit the ground running from the start.”
Although captain Brian O’Driscoll, key player Shane Horgan and David Wallace are all sidelined, O’Connell expects them all back in time when the serious business starts.
“If not,” he says, “we will have to get on with the job. There is competition for places throughout the team and I’m confident that we have a very strong squad.”
It was, he insisted, mostly about setting standards. “The fact that Brian (O’Driscoll) hasn’t been there did not have an adverse affect on training. Everyone in the squad knows about what he brings to training and they set out to get to the same level. They wanted to find the same type of form. Everything was up there this week; we can work all the time in training but we need matches to put all the hard work to the test. After the two matches, people have come out a bit from within and it has shown in the intensity of the training sessions we’ve had this week,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Irish coach, Eddie O’Sullivan, was more than just an interested party when watching France play England and Wales take on Argentina last weekend.
He described France as being “locked and loaded” – given to mean that they know where they’re at and where they want to be in this forthcoming World Cup.
Argentina lost to Wales, but O’Sullivan reckons they should have emerged with a draw or maybe even a win. “There wasn’t anything new to learn about the Pumas; they’re a pretty formidable side and it’s going to be a really tough group,” he said.
Meanwhile ex-Ireland second row lock forward Bob Casey is the new London Irish captain.
Casey, overlooked for Ireland’s World Cup squad, will succeed Mike Catt, who is taking a new player/coaching role.
Argentina centre Martin Gaitan is resigned to missing the World Cup following the heart problems he suffered in Cardiff on Saturday.
The Biarritz player fainted in the dressing room after the 27-20 loss to Wales at Millennium Stadium, and was rushed to hospital where he underwent surgery to repair a partial tear in the coronary artery.
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