O'Sullivan seeks redemption

Of all six coaches in the RBS 6 Nations, Eddie O’Sullivan enters the tournament under the greatest pressure.

It marks an astonishing change in fortunes for Ireland’s boss as only five months ago he was celebrating a four-year contract extension.

Whether he remains in charge for the duration of his new deal is uncertain but his fate undoubtedly hinges on masterminding a successful Six Nations campaign.

The Irish Rugby Football Union are unlikely to tolerate another bitter disappointment as they seek the repair the damage caused by a disastrous World Cup.

Ireland arrived in France with genuine – and seemingly realistic – ambitions of reaching the semi-finals, despite being drawn in the competition’s toughest group.

Much of the hype had been generated by the media, but the players, coaches and an expectant nation were also not averse to talking up their chances.

And justifiably so – the assembled squad had been touted as Ireland’s golden generation, primed for the World Cup at great expense with O’Sullivan given complete autonomy in every aspect.

What materialised was a debacle of unthinkable proportions that has significantly damaged O’Sullivan’s reputation – maybe beyond repair.

Ireland finished a humiliating nine points behind Pool D winners Argentina and had to settle for a third-place finish that dumped them out of the tournament.

There were no illusions as to the difficulty of qualifying from a group that included France and the Pumas, but to finish so far off the pace was bewildering.

Not only were they well beaten by the heavyweights, they also toiled alarmingly against Namibia and almost conceded the greatest rugby upset of all time as they weathered a late assault before edging minnows Georgia 14-10.

O’Sullivan’s position was thrust under the spotlight from the moment Ireland struggled to dispatch Namibia, a team containing only five full-time professionals.

Visibly shaken, O’Sullivan spent the rest of the tournament on the defensive as he was forced to respond to a series of crises.

As if the team’s appalling form was not enough to contend with – only Girvan Dempsey and Brian O’Driscoll emerged with reputations intact – a mass of rumours had descended on the camp.

The worst of these centred around Ronan O’Gara but the stories were not confined to Ireland’s chief playmaker, and the admission of popular front-row Simon Best into hospital with a serious illness was another cruel blow.

O’Sullivan coped admirably with the off-field problems that pointed to a cursed World Cup campaign, but his failure to inspire his players out of their lethargy on the pitch was a major shortcoming.

As Ireland lurched from one playing calamity to another, O’Sullivan appeared powerless to halt the slump.

Possibly his gravest error was his refusal to make sweeping changes when form demanded it.

Several fringe players were infuriated by his loyalty to those who had been underperforming and it was hardly a policy to incentivise squad members with ambitions of securing a place in the team.

Worryingly, O’Sullivan has stated ahead of the Six Nations he does not see the need for radical changes which is sure to create further frustration for those who still harbour resentment from their time in France.

“One thing with Ireland is you can’t afford to be complacent,” he said.

“But I don’t see there being a huge amount of changes in the personnel. We certainly have something to prove in the Six Nations.”

A post World Cup investigation was launched by the IRFU, the outcome of which was the decision to appoint a team manager, backs coach and psychologist.

All of the players involved in the tournament were interviewed, but whether the reasons why they performed so poorly so consistently were discovered during the inquiry process remains unknown.

O’Sullivan escaped the axe, perhaps justifiably so given his record until the World Cup, and he could never have expected his team to malfunction en masse for an entire month.

But having controversially assumed complete control of the Ireland set-up, he has also been forced to take responsibility for the team’s failings.

Should the Irish be unable to produce the dramatic improvement required during the Six Nations, his seven-year reign as Ireland coach will surely come to an end.