VIDEO: Paul O’Connell: A timely reminder of where we need to be

Paul O’Connell last night warned his Ireland side they have a mountain of a challenge in front of them if they are to beat France next Sunday and top their World Cup pool.

Joe Schmidt’s squad travel west to Wales today to first recover from a gruelling 16-9 victory and tense performance against Italy at London’s Olympic Stadium yesterday, before beginning their preparation for the most difficult test of their campaign to date, the Pool D decider with the French at the Millennium Stadium.

Ireland captain O’Connell was far from satisfied with his team’s performance in overcoming a spirited Italian side but after two straightforward victories over Canada and Romania the lock agreed it was a valuable reality check.