Jauzion: O'Driscoll could take us apart

Yannick Jauzion believes France’s hopes of reaching a fourth World Cup semi-final rest on how successful they are in locking down Brian O’Driscoll in Sunday’s showdown.

The 25-year-old centre, who fears O’Driscoll has the ability to dismantle the French single-handedly, will be one of the men charged with stopping the Irish superstar.

O’Driscoll vowed earlier this week that Ireland intend to combat the French flair with expansive attacking rugby of their own, and that clearly has Jauzion concerned.

“Brian O’Driscoll creates a lot of opportunities for them. If we do not watch him carefully he will cause us a lot of problems,” he said.

“He can seize any opportunity that comes his way. He can also create them and is suited to any style of game, tight or not. You also have to be careful when he does not have the ball.

“We can talk a lot about how to stop him but we need to do it. One thing we must make certain is not to give a chance to get his confidence levels up early in the game.

“If he does that he could take us apart. We must close him down early on and keep him quiet for the rest of the match.”

The French are acutely aware of how dangerous O’Driscoll can be.

The 24-year-old averages a try every game against Les Bleus, including a memorable Paris hat-trick that underpinned Ireland’s historic Six Nations victory in 2000.

O’Driscoll took his time to stamp his mark on this tournament, but announced he was nearing his most dynamic form with a stand-out performance against the Australians last weekend.

Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan has watched O’Driscoll blossom, learning to put team-mates in space and ensuring he can be just as dangerous even when heavily marked.

That added facet of his game will make life tough for Jauzion and centre partner Tony Marsh, particularly under the Telstra Dome roof, where the rugby is pure, unaffected by the elements.

“The issue with double-marking him is that it means someone else isn’t being watched. I would prefer to play normally but watch him 100% of the time,” said Jauzion.

“I was really impressed with the way Ireland played against Australia. They won a lot of ball and it gave them an opportunity to show their attacking flair. They seemed quite keen to run it from all parts of the ground.”

Jauzion, who made his Test debut in 2001 but struggled behind Damien Traille to become a regular fixture in the first team, was exposed defensively by England in France’s last run-out before the World Cup.

The French have not been severely tested defensively this tournament after breezing through Pool C with maximum points, and it is an area Jauzion admitted the side need to work on.

“I think we can improve in our defence,” he said.

“It has been difficult because we have so often been on attack and not had the opportunity to defend.”

Jauzion offers a creative influence in midfield, allied by the clever rugby brain of fly-half Frederik Michalak and the more direct talents of Marsh.

And the 25-year-old is confident his New Zealand-born centre partner will make his mark defensively against O’Driscoll, Kevin Maggs et al.

“Tony Marsh is a solid, stable part of our team,” said Jauzion who is a bigger man than O’Driscoll.

“He always chooses the right option and he doesn’t make mistakes. He is strong in the tackle and has the strength to push players backwards.

“He is the type of player we can build a performance on.”