O'Sullivan impressed by creative Islanders

Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan has described his team’s opponents on Sunday as a “classic” Pacific Islands side with the potential to be a major force in world rugby.

He insists the tourists must not be underestimated in Ireland’s last match before leaving Lansdowne Road.

The home side have made nine changes to the side which demolished Australia last weekend, awarding debuts to Luke Fitzgerald, Jamie Heaslip and Stephen Ferris.

However, O’Sullivan is not taking the opposition lightly, and said: “It’s a classic Pacific Islands outfit. They’re very physical and they like playing with the ball in their hands.”

Defeats to Scotland and Wales on their tour so far suggest the Pacific Islands will suffer a clean sweep, given Ireland’s current strength.

O’Sullivan will not take victory for granted, however.

“Scotland got off to a flyer against them last weekend and relaxed a little bit, and suddenly they were nearly reeled in,” he observed.

“These guys can create tries out of nothing – a soft shoulder here, half an offload there.

“They’re hard to chase down and are great finishers. Their strike-rate is excellent. They have capacity to hurt you out of nothing.

“They were put together a couple of years ago and are trying to mix different players from different countries. It’s like pooling Ireland, Scotland and Wales together on tour.

“They feel they will get better with every game and will be a more cohesive unit this week.”

Made up of players from Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Niue and the Cook Islands, the Pacific Islands have been crippled by the defection of star players to New Zealand and Australia, but O’Sullivan feels that – with support from the International Rugby Board – they can become a more capable unit.

“If the World Cup is to develop as an entity it has to be competitive, exciting and unpredictable,” said O’Sullivan.

“Who wants to go to a World Cup where you know the semi-finalists before you’ve even bought your ticket?

“People can talk about the likes of sleeping giants America and the progression of Argentina, but there is a hotbed of rugby in the Pacific Islands. Unfortunately it hasn’t blossomed in the professional era.

“It was in a much healthier state in the amateur days but since the game went professional, there has been a haemorrhaging of their better players into the Australia and New Zealand teams.

“A lot of these players who would be eligible to play for their countries of birth end up playing for New Zealand or Australia and that has weakened them dramatically.

“It’s very hard to stop that and there’s no reason to stop that. We’ve picked New Zealand-born Isaac Boss last weekend so we’re not going to be critical about it.

“But that’s the dynamics of the situation. If the Pacific Islanders were able to pick their best team it would up the ante considerably for everybody.”