IRELAND’S ANNUAL OPEN training day at Aviva Stadium is not the most demanding session on the pitch, with a chunk of time put aside to allow supporters grab a selfie or an autograph from their heroes. Yesterday’s news that Peter O’Mahony, Cian Healy and Conor Murray will all retire from international rugby in the coming weeks added some poignancy to the occasion, as hundreds of young fans descended on Lansdowne Road.
That announcement dominated yesterday’s press conference at the Aviva but of course, there is still a crucial game to plan for, with France coming to Dublin for a potential Six Nations decider next weekend.
So while forwards coach Paul O’Connell was happy to reflect on the totemic careers of three of Ireland’s greatest players during his 20 minutes of media duty, you can be sure the threat posed by Les Bleus has been more prominent in his thoughts.
“I think they’ve been excellent,” O’Connell said of France.
“There is a lot more unstructured play happening in the Top 14 when you look at Toulouse playing, when you look at Bordeaux playing, and you even look at Vern Cotter bringing some of that down to Auckland in Super Rugby. It’s been really effective for those teams, and they’re very good at it.
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Paul O'Connell. Andrew Conan / INPHO
Andrew Conan / INPHO / INPHO
“France have a little bit of structure in terms of how they come out of their own half, but they can play that unstructured game really well. They do a lot of it off mauls. They are very good at reading the speed of the ball, picking it up and starting playing. It can be hard to defend.
“I thought they were very good (in defeat) against England as well. That’s a very good English team that have their backs to the wall, that are fighting for their lives. I thought France were excellent against them and but for a few handling errors in really tough conditions, the scoreline could have been very, very different.”
This game always looked the most likely stumbling block for Ireland’s bid to become the first team to win three Six Nations titles on the bounce. Simon Easterby’s side also have a Grand Slam to play for, having seen off the challenges of England, Scotland and Wales so far, and while those fixtures all asked different questions of the group, France are expected to provide the most taxing examination yet.
“It’s a very different challenge to what we’re used to,” O’Connell said. “A lot of teams play very structured rugby, they’re a little bit different. Big challenge at the ruck then as well. They tend to put a lot of pressure on your ruck ball. I think they’ve gathered a lot of experience over the last few years.
“They’ve had the same coaching staff over the last few years, they’ve that continuity of players and coaching staff similar to what we do. They understand what they do inside out. They’ve had some bad days like we’ve had, you get to reflect on it and put a few things in place that stops it from happening again. I think they’re in a great place and it promises to be a really tough clash for us.”
O'Connell signs some autographs. Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
Ireland’s Six Nations charge has been powered by a familiar group, with some fresher faces sprinkled in. Most notably, 22-year-old out-half Sam Prendergast has mixed the sublime with a few miscues. Jack Boyle came in for his debut in Wales last weekend and impressed across his short cameo. Jamie Osborne made his first Six Nations appearance in the same game while Thomas Clarkson started in the Ireland front row for the first time.
Ireland are contining to grow as a squad, but there is no ignoring the fact the retirements of O’Mahony, Murray and Healy – coming some 18 months after fellow centurions Johnny Sexton and Keith Earls stepped away – will strip the group of a wealth of Test experience. O’Connell admits there could be some bumps on the road when Ireland do have to deal with that transition.
I’m sure it will be difficult and I’m sure there will be days when we struggle a little bit and we won’t know why we’re struggling. It’ll be because of that little bit of experience.
“Pete is very good at saying the right thing at the right time in the right way. He’s very good at cutting through a lot of the BS and getting guys down to work.
“Conor Murray has an amazing temperament and that’s been his strength since he first came in at 21 years of age in 2011. I was only thinking when I was watching him playing a few weeks, his temperament, his attitude hasn’t changed one bit. It’s pretty incredible. He’s pretty unflappable as a player and as a guy.
“Cian is very versatile. He’s had a great mentoring role with the props in recent times. When you lose those guys you probably won’t know what the answer is when something is going wrong.
“It’ll be hard to pinpoint it but into that void, other guys will have to fill the space. They have given a great example to other players of what you should do and how you should do it and how you should go about your business, so hopefully a few of them are copying and pasting what they did, and coming up with their own version of it, and it’s helping them fill that void for us, in time.”
The short-term gain could be that those impending retirements serve as added motivation against France.
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“The boys don’t rely on emotion, massively. It’s the icing on the cake rather than the whole cake these days. I don’t think we’ll be using it for emotion or to help us win the game, it’s more about marking their contribution.
“I just don’t think we need it for this weekend. We’re good when we know how important it is and how serious the occasion is for us, but we’re good when we’re nice and clear as well, and calm under pressure.”
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'A very different challenge to what we’re used to' - Ireland step up preparations for France
IRELAND’S ANNUAL OPEN training day at Aviva Stadium is not the most demanding session on the pitch, with a chunk of time put aside to allow supporters grab a selfie or an autograph from their heroes. Yesterday’s news that Peter O’Mahony, Cian Healy and Conor Murray will all retire from international rugby in the coming weeks added some poignancy to the occasion, as hundreds of young fans descended on Lansdowne Road.
That announcement dominated yesterday’s press conference at the Aviva but of course, there is still a crucial game to plan for, with France coming to Dublin for a potential Six Nations decider next weekend.
So while forwards coach Paul O’Connell was happy to reflect on the totemic careers of three of Ireland’s greatest players during his 20 minutes of media duty, you can be sure the threat posed by Les Bleus has been more prominent in his thoughts.
“I think they’ve been excellent,” O’Connell said of France.
“There is a lot more unstructured play happening in the Top 14 when you look at Toulouse playing, when you look at Bordeaux playing, and you even look at Vern Cotter bringing some of that down to Auckland in Super Rugby. It’s been really effective for those teams, and they’re very good at it.
“France have a little bit of structure in terms of how they come out of their own half, but they can play that unstructured game really well. They do a lot of it off mauls. They are very good at reading the speed of the ball, picking it up and starting playing. It can be hard to defend.
“I thought they were very good (in defeat) against England as well. That’s a very good English team that have their backs to the wall, that are fighting for their lives. I thought France were excellent against them and but for a few handling errors in really tough conditions, the scoreline could have been very, very different.”
This game always looked the most likely stumbling block for Ireland’s bid to become the first team to win three Six Nations titles on the bounce. Simon Easterby’s side also have a Grand Slam to play for, having seen off the challenges of England, Scotland and Wales so far, and while those fixtures all asked different questions of the group, France are expected to provide the most taxing examination yet.
“It’s a very different challenge to what we’re used to,” O’Connell said. “A lot of teams play very structured rugby, they’re a little bit different. Big challenge at the ruck then as well. They tend to put a lot of pressure on your ruck ball. I think they’ve gathered a lot of experience over the last few years.
“They’ve had the same coaching staff over the last few years, they’ve that continuity of players and coaching staff similar to what we do. They understand what they do inside out. They’ve had some bad days like we’ve had, you get to reflect on it and put a few things in place that stops it from happening again. I think they’re in a great place and it promises to be a really tough clash for us.”
Ireland’s Six Nations charge has been powered by a familiar group, with some fresher faces sprinkled in. Most notably, 22-year-old out-half Sam Prendergast has mixed the sublime with a few miscues. Jack Boyle came in for his debut in Wales last weekend and impressed across his short cameo. Jamie Osborne made his first Six Nations appearance in the same game while Thomas Clarkson started in the Ireland front row for the first time.
Ireland are contining to grow as a squad, but there is no ignoring the fact the retirements of O’Mahony, Murray and Healy – coming some 18 months after fellow centurions Johnny Sexton and Keith Earls stepped away – will strip the group of a wealth of Test experience. O’Connell admits there could be some bumps on the road when Ireland do have to deal with that transition.
“Pete is very good at saying the right thing at the right time in the right way. He’s very good at cutting through a lot of the BS and getting guys down to work.
“Conor Murray has an amazing temperament and that’s been his strength since he first came in at 21 years of age in 2011. I was only thinking when I was watching him playing a few weeks, his temperament, his attitude hasn’t changed one bit. It’s pretty incredible. He’s pretty unflappable as a player and as a guy.
“Cian is very versatile. He’s had a great mentoring role with the props in recent times. When you lose those guys you probably won’t know what the answer is when something is going wrong.
“It’ll be hard to pinpoint it but into that void, other guys will have to fill the space. They have given a great example to other players of what you should do and how you should do it and how you should go about your business, so hopefully a few of them are copying and pasting what they did, and coming up with their own version of it, and it’s helping them fill that void for us, in time.”
The short-term gain could be that those impending retirements serve as added motivation against France.
“The boys don’t rely on emotion, massively. It’s the icing on the cake rather than the whole cake these days. I don’t think we’ll be using it for emotion or to help us win the game, it’s more about marking their contribution.
“I just don’t think we need it for this weekend. We’re good when we know how important it is and how serious the occasion is for us, but we’re good when we’re nice and clear as well, and calm under pressure.”
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Ireland Les Bleus Paul O'Connell six nations 2025 France the big one