After a spectacular performance against South Africa, hopes are high for Ireland as we draw ever closer to next year’s Rugby World Cup in England.
The 29-15 victory puts us in good stead ahead of fixtures against Georgia and third-ranked Australia, but as the hype builds around the team,
Off the Ball’s panel of Brian O’Driscoll, Denis Hickey, Stephen Ferrris and Keith Wood spoke about Ireland’s impressive form and their own experiences during the 2007 World Cup, where a well-hyped Irish team crashed out in the group stages.
Hickey praised last Saturday’s game, saying:
“I did think that Ireland were going to struggle maybe in the last 30 minutes. I thought that South Africa might wear them down and their relative strength and maybe injuries would be an issue. But straight after half time when Ireland scored that really set the tone. We were under control even when it felt like we were under pressure.”
But Woods warned that Australia’s style of play would prove harder to match:
“Australia are far more thinking. The manner in with Ireland played South Africa, they knew how they would play. Australia vary all the time. ”
All four ex-internationals were confident of Schmidt’s coaching, and believe that the level of preparation and discipline will avoid any repeat of the 2007 World Cup.
Hickey explained the frustration of the tournament, when Ireland were knocked out after a shock loss against Georgia:
"We were completely undercooked... We probably weighed on the side of cotton wool too much. There was a huge focus on us getting bigger. We absolutely ate the gym for six weeks and didn't touch a ball.
"In the first Scotland game the level of skill was terrible.
We know were a much better team than Georgia. We couldn't get our heads around it. We had another big chance the following but never reached the heights we did in 2006/7."
O’Driscoll also spoke about the challenges of holding the captaincy, especially at the age of only 23:
“Id captained UCD under-20s... these guys had been around for ten years. what was I going to say to them?
“You’re super conscious of your frailties, way mote than the next person. I’m not this fantastic orator; I’m not able to produce these great captains meetings.
But no matter what [the captaincy] always outweighs the negatives.
But eventually I learned to speak a bit more. I tried to gain the respect of my teammates by the way i played and trained. The way you play on the pitch is really what it boils down to.”
Here's BOD meeting one of his biggest fans.
And in case you were wondering, here's the legends panel debating who's the best golfer.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
