Evolution, not revolution

JAMIE HEASLIP can deny it all he wants; the upcoming Six Nations is all about revenge.

Revenge for falling short in New Zealand. Revenge for being beaten by Wales in the quarter-finals.

Revenge for having the mantle of the best young side in Europe snatched away from them.

That the first game of this year’s Six Nations is in Dublin against their World Cup conquerors only reopens the wound and strengthens the desire. Declan Kidney’s side need to get 2011 out of their system before they can move on and start the long run-in to the next World Cup. Ultimately, last year Ireland effortlessly assumed the title of ‘nearly men’, unable to harness momentum.

Yet now comes the chance to start again. This will be evolution, not revolution, but the days of John Hayes, Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell are coming to an end. Now, the generation of Heaslip, Sean O’Brien and Jonny Sexton are expected to become senior players and lead the way.

Kidney will name his squad for the upcoming Six Nations tomorrow , but the expectations are clear. Until they are beaten, the Welsh dragon looms large for this Irish side.

Yet Heaslip doesn’t need a second invitation to proclaim that Sam Warburton, Jamie Roberts, George North and friends are far from invincible.

The 28-year-old Leinster man is careful not to sound like a sore loser, but that 22-10 defeat in Wellington hurt — and now is the chance to take that frustration out on those who inflicted that pain.

“I wouldn’t say we are better than Wales, but we can definitely beat them,” grins Heaslip as he sits down in between photoshoots at a studio on the south bank of the Thames in London.

“Mind you, they’ll say they can definitely beat Ireland, so it will make for an interesting opener.

“Some people will use the fact that they beat us in the quarter-finals as a massive motivating factor.

“Personally I won’t have too many arguments. The better team beat us on the day. I have no personal grudges against anyone. On the day you would want to prove you’re the better team, but I wouldn’t be looking back going ‘shit, they beat us last time so I want to beat them this time’. I’m a greedy f**ker, I want to win every time.

“It’s like Al Pacino says in the film ‘Any Given Sunday’ — on any day, any game, anything can happen.

“In that game we didn’t take our chances, and we didn’t execute when we were in their 22.

“Will we talk about that defeat in Wellington? Well when you’re playing you definitely do.

“I’m sure Sam Warburton will be mentioned, for example. He is a massive threat around the breakdown, Toby Faletau will be, Jamie Roberts in the centre, then you have their finishers on the wing.

“All these guys will be mentioned and we will have tons of video on them from club and international games.”

But why did Ireland lose to Wales? There was talk, not least from Ronan O’Gara, that Ireland had perhaps started to believe their own hype after the victory over Australia. That Heaslip, who was very vocal in his belief that Ireland could emerge victorious in New Zealand, disagrees with the Munster fly-half’s assessment is hardly surprising, but he makes no mistake for his bullishness.

“Ronan and I get on very well,” he explains when pressed on the subject. “He is a man who has his opinions and I have to respect that. I wouldn’t agree with him on it, but they are Ronan’s thoughts. We all know he has very strong opinions. But you can be sure that in the training camp at Christmas he was all about now and driving forward in the Six Nations. Do I think Ireland play better withoutexpectations? No. I got a bit of stick for saying ‘we are going to the World Cup to win it’. Well, why should I be afraid to say we are entering this competition to win it? “There’s a difference between being confident or being cocky and arrogant. We all play to win. If you aren’t playing to win you shouldn’t be playing. You have to have the confidence that you will be the better team and win. I am not going out saying ‘I want to be the underdog’. I’m going out to win.”

But Ireland’s chances of winning have undoubtedly been harmed by the absence of O’Driscoll. The day when the 32-year-old finally takes his leave of the international stage draws ever nearer, but the identity of his replacement in both the No.13 jersey and as captain is less clear. O’Connell has been appointed to the latter post, but he is the same age as O’Driscoll. So, would Heaslip have fancied the job? He is hardly a rugby aficionado, but leadership can come in many forms and he has done a sterling job at Leinster in recent weeks.

“Obviously no-one would turn that down,” he says after being asked what he would have done if Kidney had given him the choice. “I would have taken it with both hands. But Paul is there. I have been under Paul loads, with the Lions, with Ireland, and there is no better man to lead you into battle. But I do let Joe Schmidt know I have a 100% record as captain! I was straight onto Leo Cullen after we beat Cardiff, taking the mick out of him.

I love leading Leinster out, it’s a very proud thing to do.

“As for Brian, we are obviously missing a big guy, our skipper, our massive leader and a massive talent on the pitch.

“But we haven’t had him all season at Leinster and we have had guys that have stepped up to the plate. Brian is laughing and joking, saying ‘is there a spot for me in the changing room anymore?’.

“He will be a big loss but it is an opportunity for people. At Leinster you have had Eoin O’Malley, Fergus McFadden, Luke (Fitzgerald), there are a couple of others there too. They have all done a fantastic job.”

And now is the time for them to make themselves known. There will be changes to Kidney’s squad tomorrow, and it is then that the real challenge begins. But he knows that Ireland need to push on to add to his already bulging medal collection. Heaslip knows what he’s won, but he doesn’t appreciate it quite yet.

“The only time I will stop and look back at my career is when I’m finished,” he adds. “I’m about the now and what has to be done. That’s the way I am. I know what I’ve done and I have the medals to prove it. I know they are there at home to remind me, but I am more about what can be done now.”