Sean Farrell reports from the Millennium Stadium
IRELAND CAPTAIN PAUL O’Connell has nothing but faith in centre Keith Earls, despite the very obvious physical gap between the two opposing 13s in tomorrow’s Pool D decider against France.
Earls will stand opposite 120 kg Mathieu Bastareaud in Cardiff tomorrow, the Toulon behemoth carrying a 30kg advantage on the Munster man.
It’s not just because Earls has been the second row’s team-mate for club and country for the best part of the last decade that has him backing the wing-turned-centre, it’s because he’s used to Ireland having to punch above their weight.
“They’re not just bigger, they also have incredible players with fantastic talent and skill. It’s a fantastic challenge for us,” says the captain.
“There was always going to be a physical challenge. They’re a huge side, bigger than us. That’s what teams do when they play Ireland. South Africa do it too. It probably makes sense.”
Looking closer at the direct match-ups in midfield, O’Connell is confident that the oft-mentioned ‘homework’ given to Ireland’s entire squad has made Earls well prepared for the occasion and the opponent.
“Our squad ethic is really good that way. We tend to plug guys in really well in terms of how we prepare from week-to-week. There’s a lot of pressure put on for Six Nations, November and there’s 30 guys who know exactly what we’re doing.
It’s been the same here since we’ve been in the World Cup: a lot of pressure for the 31 to know exactly what we’re doing. So there isn’t just a 24th or 25th man who goes in and covers three or four places, we’re able to make a direct replacement.
“That’s something that’s been going on since the 31 was announced. The other 16 guys have been through similar preparations to the 15 that are starting. It’s something we do well.”
O’Connell stressed that he is confident that Ireland can deliver a performance against France, results are a much trickier calculation to make.
On the back of a relatively poor showing – but crucially a win – against Italy, the skipper is promising a display to match the heaving atmosphere in Cardiff.
“We’ve always bounced back from poor performances.
“We probably haven’t done that as well as we have in the past: since the start of the summer, Wales and England back-to-back. last week against Italy was disappointing as well. We didn’t help ourselves.
Shift the percentages
“There needs to be a massive lift in intensity, I’d be confident we know where France are going to be in their physicality and what they’re going to bring. They’ve had great preparation. Something they don’t always get. We’re lucky enough that we get good time together for the Six Nations and November Internationals. France don’t get that, but they get it at a World Cup and I think if we don’t raise our intensity, and a lot of what we’re doing, significantly it’s going to be a very tough day.”
O’Connell has spoken many times in the past about his poor track record against Les Bleus. It’s a useful tool to dampen down expectations after four years without a loss to the 2011 World Cup finalists. Extending that run and sending France into the ring with New Zealand would surely be a sweet way to redress the balance before he hangs up the Ireland jersey for good later this month.
“I don’t think you can fix it all,” says the lock, “but you can shift the percentages a bit. It’s always tough against France. You look at the sheer physical size of them and then the power and the speed (on top of that). Guys like Picamoles, Bastareaud; great feet, great size, power and great skill.
“For Ireland, with four professional teams it’s always a big challenge for us. That’s probably one of the reasons I have been on the wrong side of the percentages.
“In the last few years they have been really tight. There was a time during the end of Deccy’s time that we were struggling. We’ve come through that and France will fell they’re in a similar place. You look at the players on the team-sheet, they’re a fantastic side. For us, there is a big fear factor going in against a side like that.”
