O’Driscoll boosted by ‘game breakers’

IRELAND captain Brian O’Driscoll hopes Geordan Murphy’s first start of the tournament and the return of Denis Hickie on the left wing will rescue Ireland’s Rugby World Cup hopes in the must-win game against Argentina on Sunday.

Said O’Driscoll: “No disrespect to the guys they have replaced but we probably now have more game breakers, people who can create something from nothing.

“You’ve got raw speed from Denis and an excellent rugby brain in Geordie that can turn matches and create situations out of nothing. We have as many game breakers in this selection as we possibly could.”

O’Driscoll insists that none of the squad have contemplated the consequences of elimination before the knock-out stages.

“There will be plenty of time for that post-competition,” he stressed. “There’s no point in allowing yourself to even contemplate what it would be like because there’s nothing you can gain from that. I’m a firm believer in being as positive as possible until the moment when it’s out of your hands.”

Reminded that Munster have been in similar situations in the past and managed to produce miracle results, O’Driscoll agreed such experiences: “could be important and relevant to us. There have been guys who needed to do it for their club and managed to do it. So any level of experience they can bring to the table is very welcome.

“They know that you don’t need to go out and do it in the first 20 minutes, that it’s an 80-minute game. “If we can’t manage the four tries, then we’ll die trying.”

He continued: “We know we are capable of a huge performance and that if we don’t produce something enormous, then it will be our final game in this World Cup. It’s the last chance saloon and we only hope that we can produce the kind of form this team is capable of.

“It’s a superhuman task.

“The Argentinians have based their game around their defence and will be very difficult to break down.

“But we have managed to score tries against teams with fantastic defences before.

“Sure, it’s going to take a monumental task to score four against them but first and foremost we have to think about the performance and winning the game.

“If the fourth try comes, well, fantastic. It would be a travesty to have worked as hard as we have done for the last three months, in pre-season and indeed over the years since the last World Cup, and go out at this stage.”