O'Connell: We've moved on from World Cup
Paul O’Connell believes the good form of the Irish provinces in Europe has helped the players to get over their disappointing exit from the World Cup last October.
Declan Kidney’s men couldn’t reproduce the stunning Eden Park performance which saw them beat Australia 15-6 in the Pool stages and crashed out of the World Cup after a disappointing 22-10 defeat to Wales.
The Irish provinces have failed to show signs of a World Cup hangover however, with Munster and Leinster claiming the top two seedings in the Heineken Cup entering the quarter-finals and Ulster also progressing to the knockout stages.
O’Connell maintains the winning mentality will be brought through from the provinces to give the national side confidence heading into the Six Nations.
"The provinces winning certainly gives the national team a lift," he explained.
"We'll have a group of guys coming in from three teams who have been doing things differently yet have been successful.
"You bring in three different types of experience into a squad and that's a good thing.
"We've been used to winning games away from home and winning pressure games, figuring out ways to get the result.
"All of that combines and should be good for the Ireland team.”
While a place in the quarter-final marked a progression from the disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign, Ireland never really got going in their last eight encounter with Wales.
O’Connell admits that the performance left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Irish players but insists they have gotten over it with the help of some brilliant results in the Heineken Cup.
"It certainly puts a spring in your step and you can see the effect the successful campaigns have had on the atmosphere around the squad.
"It's been good that most of us have been able to move away from that disappointing performances in the World Cup quarter-final against Wales and put a campaign together.
"It gets that performance out of the system for a lot of us," added O'Connell.
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