Reliance on O’Gara is scary

THE ROAD to redemption is longer and littered with more potholes than we might have imagined.

Despite an opening Six Nations championship victory, Ireland’s performance on Saturday has done nothing to allay the disappointment and concerns that have haunted this squad since the Argentina defeat in the final pool game of the World Cup.

Despite encouraging individual and collective performances in the Heineken Cup it is clear that, when put under pressure, this Irish side is dangerously low on confidence. Ireland have now played nine internationals since the convincing display in Rome that underlined the team’s quality in last season’s Six Nations. Since then the side has stuttered and scraped four victories over minnows Georgia and Namibia along with two narrow wins against Italy.