Ireland desperate to up the ante

SUGGESTIONS Georgia may make sweeping changes for tomorrow’s World Cup clash with Ireland and the continued preference for Rory Best over Jerry Flannery at hooker were the major issues at yesterday’s press conference involving the Irish coaching staff — minus Eddie O’Sullivan.

“I don’t think it makes much difference what kind of team they put out against us,” claimed assistant coach Niall O’Donovan. “We have to go with what we saw against Argentina and what we saw during the summer. No matter what side they put out, they’ll be physical.

“The guys they have in reserve are just as big and as physical as the guys who started the other day. They’re all very physical. They took on Argentina and won a lot of the battles. They probably tired towards the end and started losing a few set pieces. But for 78% of the game, they were well in it. They were physical around the contact areas, rucks and breakdowns and looked to have a very good maul and a good maul defence.