Battle-hardened Irish ready for French challenge

Ireland go into their toughest match of a tough World Cup with coach Eddie O’Sullivan convinced they are not feeling the strain of having already played two difficult matches in the last two weeks.

The 16-15 win over Argentina was followed by a 17-16 loss to Australia, leaving some wondering if the Irish will be exhausted when they face France on Sunday in the quarter-finals.

But O’Sullivan believes the recovery time has been sufficient to prepare his players for the one of the biggest games in Irish rugby history.

“I’m convinced we’re not battle-weary, but we’re looking forward to the game and we’ve got an extra day under our belts where we’re off our feet and I think that makes you battle-hardened,” said O’Sullivan, who lost key players Alan Quinlan and Denis Hickie to long-term injuries in the group stages.

“We had a tough pool and a tough game last week. In some ways playing Test games over three or four weeks can be to your advantage as well.

“If we were to play in six days we would be battle-weary but in eight days we’re battle-hardened, and that to me is a key issue.”

Recovery and preparation for the match have not been helped by confusion over today’s training times.

Ireland were originally scheduled to train at Telstra Dome from 2pm to 5pm but later wanted to change that to the 10am to 1pm slot. In the meantime, New Zealand had already claimed that session so a compromise had to be worked out.

Eventually, Ireland began at 9.30am and New Zealand came in at 12pm, but O’Sullivan was unhappy with the situation.

“It’s a bit frustrating when here we are on the eve of a World Cup quarter-final, which is probably the most important game in Irish rugby history if we win,” he said.

“We had to reschedule our whole programme at half past 10 last night. It’s not the ideal preparation for a quarter-final.

“I am very annoyed about to it, to be quite frank.”

The pressure on Ireland is certainly increasing, and O’Sullivan faces a huge task against the in-form and confident French.

France have racked up an average of 51 points per match so far, compared to Ireland’s 35.

“The French at the moment can be extremely dangerous,” said O’Sullivan, who has overseen two wins from three in matches against Les Bleus since taking over as Ireland coach in November, 2001.

“They can put a lot of points on you if you fall into the trap of giving them time and space on the ball, because they have a lot of players who can off-load in the tackle or just before the tackle.

“The test for us on Saturday is minimise our ’soap’ tackles and try and get hold of the French guy with ball in his hands and stop the off-load, because they’re particularly good at that.”

The only unforced change O’Sullivan has made to his line-up from the team which went so close against Australia is the recall of Victor Costello at number eight in place of Anthony Foley.

He will form a loose forward trio with Simon Easterby and Keith Gleeson trying to diminish the influence of France’s dynamic back row of Olivier Magne, Serge Betsen and Imanol Harinordoquy.

The other alteration is forced, with Munster’s John Kelly replacing the injured Denis Hickie on the left wing.

France have named a predictable line-up, with Tony Marsh overcoming an Achilles tendon injury to take his place in the centres alongside Yannick Jauzion.

French coach Bernard Laporte has opted for a line-out jumper on the bench, picking Patrick Tabacco as loose forward cover ahead of Christian Labit.