O'Driscoll encouraged by early form

Brian O’Driscoll is satisfied with Ireland’s form ahead of tomorrow’s RBS 6 Nations clash with France.

Ireland opened the championship with a fraught 13-11 victory over Italy that saw them flirt with becoming the Azzurri’s greatest tournament scalp yet.

But while the Irish wasted a host of chances at the Stadio Flaminio, O’Driscoll was encouraged by the creativity on display.

“I stand by what I said last weekend in that our shape was really good and we created a huge amount,” said the captain.

“If that was the part of our game that we struggled with, then I’d be really worried this week, but it wasn’t.

“It was the small things that went wrong, like looking after the ball and the quality of the pass. They can be easily corrected.

“We just have to hold onto that shape as much as possible, take the French though phases and create some mismatches. With a bit of luck we’ll be more clinical this weekend and take our opportunities.”

O’Driscoll insists taking greater care of the ball will be paramount against Grand Slam champions France.

“The errors last week were just down to individuals,” said the Leinster centre. “Sure there was a bit of pressure put on and the ball was lost in contact, but at the same time the guy in possession has to look after the ball. That’s of great importance.

“When you know you’re not going to score yourself it’s about trying to recycle and scoring off the next phase or the one after that.

“We didn’t do that as we lost our patience and tried to score early at times, thinking we were getting over the line when we weren’t.”

O’Driscoll has the utmost respect for France having faced them 11 times, winning on four occasions, and seen off 12 different centres in the process.

Ireland have prevailed just once in the last seven meetings between the rivals and O’Driscoll knows what is required at Lansdowne Road tomorrow.

“France can cut teams open in the blink of an eye. They seem very comfortable in their own shape and what they are doing,” he said.

“They have a lot of ball players, guys who aren’t afraid to play with width and take chances. It makes for an open game.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to match them and make it entertaining. I’ve been playing France for the last 12 years and their unpredictability has become predictable.”