BOD: This team ‘are capable of great things’

“That is definitely my biggest regret of retiring - is this Joe Schmidt team, being part of it for a World Cup. I do think that they are capable of great things.”

By Grainne McGuinness

Brian O’Driscoll believes the current Ireland team are capable of going further than an Irish team ever has in the World Cup next year and admits not being part of the side going to England was his biggest regret on retirement.

The ex-Ireland and Leinster star was speaking on Newstalk’s Off the Ball radio show last night and said last weekend’s

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“It does reinforce where this team has been going for the last 8-9-10 months,” said O’Driscoll. “That’s why we have this crazy optimism going forward to the World Cup.”

He continued: “You see that many guys on an injury list, and yes there were probably still 10 first choice players at the weekend, but when you see those other guys coming in and doing as good a job as they did - we gotta think about a semi-final of the World Cup at least, and then all bets are off.”

O’Driscoll said player’s mental readiness was vital going into a tournament and the important thing was to not look too far ahead, but deal with each challenge as it came.

“Go in with the thought process of getting yourself to a semi-final and then deal with that,” he said. “So much pressure comes from coming out of the pool and then winning three games in a row and thinking about that in advance.”

“Don’t worry about that, get yourself out of the pool stage. All bets are off then, get yourself to a semi-final.”

Gerry Thornley was on the show with him and agreed that this group of Irish players had a fantastic opportunity ahead of them.

“You’ve got to start believing that we can go and win a World Cup when an awful lot of the ingredients are there for it,” said Thornley. “There’s a chunk of guys there - this time next year the World Cup will be over and they’ll be retired. This is their chance.”

O’Driscoll admitted he would have loved to have been part of the squad going to England next Autumn for the World Cup.

“That is definitely my biggest regret of retiring - is this Joe Schmidt team, being part of it for a World Cup,” he said. ”I do think that they are capable of great things.”

Thornley described the fact that Ireland had never made it to a World Cup semi-final as “embarrassing” and referred back particularly to Ireland’s defeat to Wales in the 2011 competition.

“You guys should have been in a semi, Paulie should have been in a semi,” he said. “I feel really sorry for you coming out of the quarter-final against Wales(in 2011) -that you lost that match.”

“That must have been the most disappointing defeat of your career?”

O’Driscoll agreed that it was and also described the importance of the incredible attention to details in Joe Schmidt’s camp.

“I look back, and this isn’t a critique of the coaching staff in 2011, and from an ability point of you I think that was our best Irish team going to a World Cup,” said O’Driscoll.

“You look back, and you see the level of detail that the boys are putting in now, and you think those two paired together would have been a pretty vicious combination.”

Listen to the rugby show from 37 minutes in.

If you can’t hear the audio, listen back at Newstalk.com.