O'Driscoll: The scoreline doesn't lie
Beleaguered Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll rued his side’s inability to live up to their pre-match hype after they were beaten 25-3 by France at Stade de France.
Vincent Clerc’s brace of tries helped France to a vital Pool D win, aided by the boot of Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, while Ronan O’Gara’s drop goal was all the Irish could muster.
And O’Driscoll told ITV1 afterwards: “We came across a very organised French defence.
“We knew we would need a class performance from one to 15 and that didn’t quite happen.
“There wasn’t enough of the performance we’d been talking about. When we had the ball we didn’t do enough with it.”
He added: “The scoreline doesn’t lie.
“France kept the scoreboard ticking over and it was a real sucker punch when they got their try.”
Ireland must now thrash Argentina in their last pool match or face the prospect of an early exit.
“We have got to go out to win it and play a lot better than that,” O’Driscoll said.
“It’s a big ask but stranger things have happened. You don’t ever lose faith in what you’re capable of, but so far we haven’t produced that.”
