O'Driscoll reflects on disappointment

Ireland’s disappointing performance in the 2005 RBS 6 Nations was summarised succinctly by skipper Brian O’Driscoll as he surveyed the wreckage of his side’s championship failure.

O’Driscoll led his side to three successive victories to give the Irish hopes of a Grand Slam, but defeats against France and Wales consigned them to third place.

“We have not become a bad team just because we lost two games in the tournament. We’ve worked hard to get where we are. But now we realise we still have some way to go,” he said.

“Strength in depth in certain positions is always going to cause us trouble, but we have to come to terms with that.”

Ireland entered the tournament as favourites, but it was only in the second half of their 40-13 victory over Scotland that they justified the tag.

A faltering performance against Italy made the Azzurri look better than they were and some favourable refereeing decisions helped them edge past injury-ravaged England on home soil.

They would have been thumped by France had Bernard Laporte’s men shown more composure early in the second half, while they were outclassed in Saturday’s 32-20 mauling at the Millennium Stadium.

After the Autumn international clean sweep, Ireland’s anti-climatic Six Nations has delivered a sobering reality check to Eddie O’Sullivan and his coaching staff.

The rich depth of playing resources that supposedly existed in Irish rugby had been championed throughout, but when replacements were needed to cover for injury Ireland were left exposed.

O’Sullivan stated his side would be serious title contenders if they remained injury free and to an extent he got his wish as Ireland’s medical team enjoyed one of the lightest workloads of the tournament.

Unfortunately, their expertise was required for two key players whose absence left an impossible burden on the shoulders of O’Driscoll.

Ireland’s backline had been heralded as one of the most gifted in world rugby, but without Gordon D’Arcy and Shane Horgan it lacked game breakers with only O’Driscoll providing any inspiration.

D’Arcy played little over 20 minutes of Six Nations rugby after damaging his hamstring against Italy in the opener while Horgan’s fractured thumb ruled him out for the business end of the championship.

In came Kevin Maggs and Girvan Dempsey – honest journeymen but not the players to keep Ireland’s Grand Slam bid on track.

“I think Shane was the biggest loss we had. He played in the November series and played really well, and then he played the first three Six Nations games and we won all three,” said O’Driscoll.

“He sat at home watching the last two matches and we lost. I think that speaks volumes about how much I rate him and how valuable he is to this Irish side.”

Geordan Murphy’s inconsistency has seen his hopes of making the British Lions Test line-up fade but more worrying for O’Sullivan, who will be an assistant coach in New Zealand this summer, is the form of Ronan O’Gara.

O’Sullivan has viewed the 28-year-old Munster fly-half as Ireland’s answer at number 10, but his faltering performances over the last seven weeks suggest an urgent rethink is required.

O’Gara was man of the match against South Africa and Argentina in November, but is now a pale imitation of the player who showed nerve and composure in those high-pressure situations.

His kicking out of hand has been dismal and he has offered little as a playmaker. Only his ability to keep the scoreboard ticking over offers O’Sullivan any solace.

With Jonny Wilkinson injured, the scene was set on Saturday for O’Gara to lay down a serious marker for Lions Test selection against his biggest rival for the position Stephen Jones.

But he crumbled and it was not until the 51st minute arrival of Ulster veteran David Humphreys from the bench that Ireland’s attacking machine spluttered into life.

Up front there is need of radical surgery with several players in the twilight of their careers, but O’Sullivan is hardly blessed with options as the realisation he will win little with his current pack hits home.

He has some room to experiment – Eric Miller and Donncha O’Callaghan could be promoted off the bench – but the front row is an area of weakness to which there is no easy solution.

Ireland were expected to provide a sizeable contingent to the Lions Test line-up against the All Blacks, now only O’Driscoll is a certainty with Paul O’Connell a good bet to make the second row.

For all the doom and gloom, however, it is indisputable that Ireland have come a long way over the last three years with their heightened expectations evidence of their status as a significant force in world rugby.

“We are feeling dejected because we lost two out of the five games. Years ago, if we had won three, we would have been celebrating out there with Wales,” added O’Driscoll.

“Times have moved on and we are at the point now where we want to continue to better ourselves each year.”