O'Sullivan expects tough encounter

Ireland head coach Eddie O’Sullivan has told his pack to expect a bruising collision with Romania’s forwards at Lansdowne Road tomorrow.

All eight of the Oaks’ pack play in the French league, with the likes of Biarritz prop Petru Balan, Pau openside Alexandru Manta and Perpignan number eight Ovidiu Tonita providing beef up front.

Romania’s threequarters may not be up to the same standard but O’Sullivan, who guided Ireland to a 45-17 victory over Romania during the 2003 World Cup, still believes his side face a full-blooded encounter.

“A lot of Romania’s players are professionals, so they’re not an amateur side by any means. They’ve always had a good pack and are very strong at the set-piece, especially the scrum,” he said.

“Their loosehead Petru Balan plays for Biarritz and is a very strong man. They are a rugged outfit. They might lose experience behind the scrum but their backs have always had a good platform to work from.

“We must give Romania the respect they deserve. They’re improving every year and we found them a tough nut to crack at the last World Cup – it took us a while to wear them down.”

Ulster duo Kieran Campbell and Neil Best make their full Test debuts while there are also starts for several rookies, including Andrew Trimble, Denis Leamy, Tommy Bowe and Simon Best.

“The last two weeks we’ve tried to put our best team on the field because we were playing two of the best sides in the world in New Zealand and Australia, although our team selection was coloured by injuries,” said O’Sullivan

“Against Romania we were always going to have more latitude in terms of selection. I think there are only three guys playing who started at the Millennium Stadium during last season’s Six Nations.

“I have to balance things up. I want a good performance and to win the game but it’s a fine line. If a few things go wrong and there’s not a lot of experience around, you can come off worse.”

Trimble made his Test debut in the 30-14 defeat by Australia last Saturday and gave a good account of himself in difficult circumstances, leaving O’Sullivan to predict more encouraging signs from the 21-year-old tomorrow.

“Andrew was always going to play against Romania but I thought last week was a good game for him to win his first cap. That was a good call which worked out. He’ll be stronger for having played last week as it won’t be his first cap,” he said.

Ireland displayed plenty of ambition against New Zealand and Australia but were hamstrung by poor execution. O’Sullivan, however, remains certain a backs-led expansive game is the way ahead.

“We’ll continue attacking because it’s the way forward for the team. I hope the weather is okay tomorrow, but I have a feeling it’s going to turn nasty,” he said.

“If it does stay clear we’re going to keep our game as we’ve been playing it and try and be more accurate.”