O'Driscoll: 'We must battle on'
Brian O’Driscoll insists Ireland are aware of the criticism raging against them and revealed they have taken refuge in their RBS 6 Nations base camp.
Seven disappointing Test displays of varying degrees of ineptitude dating back to August’s World Cup warm-up games have thrust coach, captain and players into the firing line.
Speculation over Eddie O’Sullivan’s future intensifies daily and even the leadership and form of the once-untouchable O’Driscoll is being challenged.
And while O’Driscoll acknowledges the anger directed at Ireland’s ongoing slump, he insists it is crucial his team-mates are not overly exposed to the criticism.
He said: “I’d be lying if I said people don’t take some sort of notice of what’s being said.
“But you have to cocoon yourself when you’re in camp and you don’t really get the full feeling of whether it’s good or bad in the public domain.
“You don’t really know the full strength of it. When you’re away on tour, or away at a World Cup, you don’t really understand how big it is at home.
“It’s a case of just battling on and playing the way we know we’re capable of.
“We just have to iron out those creases and when those opportunities arise we need to make sure we’re clinical.”
Ireland will have to take all of their chances if they are to stand any chance of upsetting France, who are fresh from a 27-6 triumph over Scotland.
Victory over Marc Lievremont’s new look side would relieve the pressure on O’Sullivan and his men but having won in Paris just once since 1972, the odds are stacked against them.
O’Driscoll said: “The last time we beat France in Paris was in 2000 and that seems like an eternity ago.
“The fact is that 2003 was the last time we beat France at all so that’s five years in itself.
“We managed to beat them a couple of years in a row and obviously we beat them over there in 2000, but they’ve been our bogey team since 2003.
“It’s obviously a very, very tough place to go and win. Prior to 2000, we hadn’t won in Paris in 27 years.
“It’s a game that you just have to get nearly everything right in. You have to try to stop the momentum of the French.
“They are probably the only team in the world that can take the All Blacks apart. I think that really speaks volumes.
“At the same time, if you can get into them a little bit, they are capable of tightening up.
“The French crowd can sometimes be a hindrance to them as much as a help.”
