‘We’re fully aware what’s at stake’

“The guys are buzzing, getting stuck into each other (at training) as though it were the French game.”

THEY’VE been counting the days to Rugby World Cup 2007 since the first few hours of pre-season training in Spala, Poland in mid June.

But as members of the squad skipped through the lobby of their hotel in Stillorgan yesterday and onto the bus that ferries them the short distance to the Belfield Bowel in UCD, the RWC buzz was palpable. Maybe the players’ upbeat nature was a result of the positive news on Brian O’Driscoll’s injury released just 24 hours earlier. But when they’ll board their flight to Bordeaux this afternoon and touch down in southwest France at 6pm, they’ll realise that it’s show time.

But an opening pool fixture with Namibia is some way off ‘broadway’ for Ireland’s stellar cast of world-class names. France and Argentina are a bit away yet, but that doesn’t mean preparation is any less different for a match against the tournament minnows than it would be for the world’s more meatier opposition, insists Peter Stringer.

“I don’t think it (preparation) can be any different,” says the 77-times capped scrum-half. “We’ve been in the game long enough, we’re a professional team and guys are fully aware that when you go into a game unprepared, you come out second best. From my point of view, and as a professional player, you’ve set yourself standards over the years and undergo the same preparation no matter what game you play.

“We’re looking at the bigger picture. We’re looking at it as a stepping-stone and we have to improve on the previous game. We want to go into the Namibia game and put in a good performance. It helps confidence knowing you can do that heading into the latter stages of the group.”

“It’s a Test week now, it’s a World Cup and guys are buzzing,” says the Cork man. “We just want to get out on the training pitch. Guys are getting stuck into each other (at training) as though it were the French game. It’s about setting a marker in this team and holding a place. That’s what it’s all about.

“Certainly guys don’t want to slip up at this stage — they’ve worked too hard for it and have put in a great pre-season. We’ve had a couple of warm-up games that haven’t gone as well as we hoped. So it’s about setting our standards now, improving on performances and the Namibia game is the first one to do that in.”

He stressed: “We’re fully aware of what’s at stake — we’re in the game long enough knowing that we can’t just go out on the night and hope that it happens — you’ve got to work for it. The preparation has to be put in from the start of the week. This week is the same as any other week. You’ve got to get your video analysis done, you’ve got to get your skills done, you’ve got to get your team plays done — it’s no different there.”

He says recent performances were brought up for discussion at team meetings — the overriding feeling was one of collective responsibility and complete dissatisfaction with team performances. A good performance on Sunday would bury the ghosts of August.

“I suppose you’ve go to get the balance right. It was early in the season, it was only our second game — and second or third match for some of us — so guys are fully looking forward to the challenge and heading over to France.”

There is a sense that expectation levels have dipped after sobering showings against the Scots and Italians but this is a team that, after all, lit the touch- paper for future success after some glittering showings in the 2007 Six Nations.

Stringer feels the team feels the weight of expectation that exists in Ireland. “It’s tough. I think a lot of us come with success and we brought that on ourselves. At this point in time, it’s about getting over to France, hit the ground running. I think it has been built up since the Six Nations finished. All you can hear is that the public are looking forward to this. Now it’s about getting over to France and doing the job and backing up what we’ve produced in the Six Nations.”