O’Sullivan gambles with last throw of dice
Coach Eddie O’Sullivan has gambled uncharacteristically for a game that he regards as “the biggest, the most important of all in the World Cup”.
“Once the first game went the way it did, with France losing to Argentina, this was always going to be a pivotal game in the group. That hasn’t changed and what has disappointed us is the way we have performed. You could accurately describe it as a crisis.”
If the chosen side was intended as a wake-up call to his beleaguered squad, O’Sullivan certainly succeeded. The first hint that Peter Stringer’s place was on the line came during yesterday’s training session, when Eoin Reddan filled the number nine position. It duly transpired O’Sullivan was prepared to go with a relative novice by international standards ahead of a player who would have been earning his 80th cap had he been chosen against the French.
“You just have to go with what you believe is right,” O’Sullivan reasoned. “If you believe it’s right, you have to follow through on that. You’ve got to take hard decisions and picking Eoin ahead of Peter was hard. But I think it’s right for the team. That’s what the job requires. Dropping guys goes with the territory. If you’re good enough to get into the squad, you’re good enough to play and you’re good enough to select.”
My personal reaction to O’Sullivan’s decision was more of surprise that he was prepared to take such a risk rather than the move itself.
The coach is correct in stating that Stringer hasn’t been at his best and that Reddan has the type of fast, all-running kind of game he hopes to see his team play on Friday.
There is added irony in that Stringer and Reddan were members of the same Munster side a few years ago before the latter departed for Wasps believing there was no future with his native province. Prior to that, he had a couple of seasons with Connacht having earlier played for Crescent College and Old Crescent.
The preference for Andrew Trimble ahead of Denis Hickie could well signal the end of the St Mary’s man’s career. He has already announced his retirement from the game at the end of the World Cup.
Meanwhile, the Irish are still absorbing the message of France’s 87-10 thrashing of Namibia on Sunday night. Once Irish referee Alain Rolland — rather harshly, I thought — reduced the Africans to 14, the rout was inevitable and perhaps too much shouldn’t be read into it. Nevertheless, it has undoubtedly imbued them with fresh self belief and confidence after the defeat by Argentina.
“The French performance against Namibia doesn’t mean much to us,” Eddie claimed. “I’m sure they will be a lot happier but what we need to do is concentrate on our own game. We know what is required at this level. The first two performances weren’t anywhere near that. We’ve been in Paris before and know what it’s like to play badly there. Luckily, we know what it’s like to play well there as well.”
That, of course, was a reference to the Six Nations match in 2000 when Brian O’Driscoll ran in a memorable hat-trick of tries. The mood in the Irish camp right now appears to be more one of hope and aspiration than confidence.
“I thought they played well,” admitted O’Sullivan when pressed further. “They were a bit shaky at the start but once they got into a rhythm, they were very good. To be fair to Namibia, they did fight as much as they could but they were down to 14 men for most of the game.
“Once France got on a roll, it was typical French rugby, ball in hand, very aggressive, very quick. They’ll be happy with the performance and will put them in better frame of mind for Friday.
“I don’t think it matters what team France play. We need to concentrate on our own game and not get hung up on France. Whatever team Bernard Laporte picks, he picks, we’ll worry about them when we meet them on the field. They’re pretty much where we expected them to be, having lost the first match.”
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