O'Sullivan asks for time to change
Eddie O’Sullivan has responded to criticism of Ireland’s lacklustre RBS Six Nations Championship campaign by claiming they are a team in transition.
Victory over Scotland would keep Irish title hopes alive until the last round of matches on March 18, when they must travel to Twickenham in the final fixture of the 2006 championship.
But while Brian O’Driscoll’s men may scent glory, they have rarely hit top gear so far with their final quarter display against France the only evidence of their enormous potential.
They were dire against Italy, blundered horribly in the opening 60 minutes in Paris and failed to put Wales to the sword with the 31-5 final scoreline doing scant justice to their superiority.
Former Scotland coach Matt Williams has been one of the critics to voice his concern over Ireland’s “frustrating” performances, but O’Sullivan has hit back by calling for patience.
“It has been said that we are not fulfilling our potential. My answer to that is we are a team in transition. We started the transition last autumn and it is still a work in progress,” he said.
“I would love it if the job was done and we were firing on all cylinders. But we are a year and half from the World Cup and have made eight changes from this time last year.
“I don’t know any team that has been firing on all cylinders in the Six Nations at the moment. We are not much different to anybody else in that respect.
“Every team is in transition for the World Cup. The other thing is the championship has got tighter. There are no whipping boys any more, Italy have proved that.
“Defences have dominated and it has got harder to score and it is a tougher competition to win.
“We already know three games in there will be no Grand Slam this year. No team is playing out of their skin, maybe only Scotland.”
The second of Ireland’s Triple Crown matches promises to be a belter, taking on the appearance of a semi-final with the winners still in the title frame for the last round of matches.
Ireland’s destiny remains in their own hands with victory over Frank Hadden’s Scotland, who are also contenders, setting up a potential winner-takes-all clash with England.
Dispatching the Scots will be a formidable task – even allowing for their run of eight years without victory in Dublin – and O’Sullivan is expecting a more structured contest than against Wales.
“Scotland play a slightly different game to Wales. They use the outside channels but not as often or as frequently as Wales,” he said.
“They are more inclined to play a kicking game with Dan Parks at fly-half. He kicks the ball at the right time, so it is a more balanced game whereas Wales tend to run an awful lot of the ball.
“They are a difficult team to play because of the balance they have got and that has been reflected in the success they have had this year.
“Their defence has been outstanding – very aggressive, very organised and they have created a lot of turnovers at the ruck area.”
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