Rising from the ashes

After a disastrous World Cup, Ireland have to prove their worth all over again. With much the same side, coach Eddie O'Sullivan is fighting for his reputation. Tom English rates their chances

IT was the morning after Ireland had finally been put out of their misery – and out of the World Cup – and we were sitting in a press conference in a Paris hotel listening to Eddie O'Sullivan explain where it all went wrong. The Irish coach had his 'do not annoy me' face on, which was no surprise, because out of the corner of his eye he could see the booby traps.

One was called Hector, an irksome, gag-chasing Irish television personality who was making an 'hilarious' World Cup documentary called Chasing The Frogs; the other was Risteard, a sardonic and popular mimic employed as a diarist by an Irish newspaper for the duration of the tournament. O'Sullivan had a wary, not to mention weary, look. As bad as things were – and they were rarely worse – the coach had a feeling that the black comedy of the World Cup was not yet at an end. And he was right.

Midway through, just as O'Sullivan was pondering a question about the mortification of having almost lost to Georgia, Risteard interjected and, in one of his fake celebrity voices, asked theatrically: "Eddie, are you a croque, monsieur?" Now, a croque monsieur is a toasted ham and cheese sandwich in France, but that's not where the comic was coming from. "The clue is in the question," he added, with a flourish.
If O'Sullivan had a gun, Risteard would have been mown down on the spot.
How fitting, though, that it ended as it began, in farce. Ireland's World Cup was not just resoundingly awful on the field, it was miserable off it as well. Painfully so. Searching for reasons why a team that looked so good in the Six Nations earlier in the year could suddenly be so wretched, some theories and rumours were dreamt up. The team was supposedly fighting behind the scenes. Peter Stringer and Brian O'Driscoll were said to have exchanged blows. Geordan Murphy, it was suggested, had walked out. Denis Leamy, it seemed, was feeling angry and unwell after O'Sullivan had refused to allow him to take his medication for diabetes. There was no medication because there was no diabetes. None of it was true.

There was also stuff about players' private lives and that's where it all turned vicious and destructive. Open season had been declared on Team Ireland. It was hard enough to try and find answers to why your game had abandoned you without being confronted with salacious gossip about your marriage on top of it. France 2007 will go down in Irish rugby history as the tournament from hell.

And it has also left O'Sullivan fire-fighting at home. In theory, his new contract keeps him at the helm until after the next World Cup, but what protection will a piece of paper offer him if Ireland perform poorly in the weeks ahead? Precious little. Just as the IRFU acted quickly to extend his deal, they'll be just as rapid to end it if things don't go well in the Six Nations. They're not short of a bob or two for compensation, these boys. If they feel O'Sullivan has lost the place then he'll be gone, no matter what it costs.

Pressure, then. And O'Sullivan is not hiding from it. "There is always pressure but there's that bit more going into the Six Nations because of what happened to us in France. I'll never get over the disappointment of the World Cup but I have to move on. I can't let it drag me under."

Everything rides on O'Sullivan's assessment of the failings in France. He is convinced – and will be "until the day I die" – that there is no great mystery to the collapse in form at the World Cup. "It was a planning error I made. I tried to protect the players before the tournament so none of them would get injured. They were all fit but they were badly undercooked.

"We didn't have enough rugby in us to deal with the intensity in France and that was my fault and I have to live with it. I got it wrong. But I'm convinced the Six Nations will see us back to our best form. The boys are absolutely hell-bent on proving themselves again."

If O'Sullivan is right then Ireland should be looking at another assault on the elusive Grand Slam, a feat they have fallen one win short of in four out of the last six championships, and one that hasn't been achieved since Jack Kyle was in his pomp 60 years ago.

If he's wrong and his players show the same curious lack of explosiveness and confidence then the bitterness of the World Cup will be revisited and his regime might well be dismantled. Nothing riding on this, then, apart from his career.

How's it looking for them at the moment? Decidedly mixed. Munster, yet again, have been the standard-bearers in Europe and most of their international contingent are in rude health. None more so than Ronan O'Gara, who was the most haunted of all Irishmen in France in the autumn. O'Gara has been magnificent this season, controlling games, kicking pressure penalties in awful conditions and excelling in the role of Munster captain during the continuing absence of Paul O'Connell.

The big lock will be absent for most, if not all of the championship, but at least his side-kick Donncha O'Callaghan has regained his best form. The same can be said of Leamy, who was anonymous at the World Cup, David Wallace, Marcus Horan and John Hayes. The core of the Ireland pack will be from Munster and it will be the better for that.

The real concern lies in the backline and, ironically, with some of the team's most celebrated players. Brian O'Driscoll has not played well this season and his partnership with his Leinster team-mate, Gordon D'Arcy, has failed to fire. The understanding they once had isn't there just now. Whatever's the matter, they are not clicking either individually or as a unit.

The hope is that O'Gara's superior distribution might get them motoring again as it has done so often in the past. But looking at some of the lacklustre stuff his centres have produced in the Heineken Cup this season, O'Sullivan will have his concerns.

O'Sullivan has been called on to change his team around, Keith Wood joining the chorus last week. Remarkable as it may sound, the coach may only make three alterations to the team that slumped in France, and all are enforced.

Ulster's Tommy Bowe looks favourite to take over from the retired Denis Hickie on the left wing – the creative Geordan Murphy is seen as a defensive liability by O'Sullivan. Malcolm O'Kelly, the veteran lock and Ireland's most capped player of all time, will replace the injured O'Connell while Rory Best should take over from the suspended hooker Jerry Flannery.

Intransigence is a charge often levelled at O'Sullivan, and his keeping faith with the men who let the country down at the World Cup will add fuel to that particular fire. The coach prefers to call it loyalty. "These guys didn't become poor players overnight," he says. So it would appear that they'll rise or fall together.

How they shape up

IRELAND
Colours: Emerald green and white
Stadium: Croke Park
Odds: 4-1

Coach: Eddie O'Sullivan
O'Sullivan signed a new four-year deal before Ireland's disappointing World Cup campaign, which damaged his reputation. He will target a big Six Nations with the Lions head coaching position up for grabs.

Captain: Brian O'Driscoll
Giving the captaincy to the best player does not always work – see Andrew Flintoff – but O'Driscoll is an inspirational leader for Ireland. He led the Lions to New Zealand in 2005 and deserves a Six Nations title for all his commitment to the Irish cause.

Key man: Brian O'Driscoll
While the big-name stars failed to deliver, Brian O'Driscoll was one of the few to keep his reputation intact at the World Cup. The man known as BOD was voted player of the tournament in last season's Six Nations championship.

Strengths: Midfield
Twelve months ago Ireland boasted arguably the finest midfield combination in world rugby, with Ronan O'Gara an astute playmaker as well as top-class kicker, and Brian O'Driscoll alongside Gordon D'Arcy in the centre. But do they still have it?

Weaknesses: Bottle
Ireland have been capable of winning the Six Nations every year since 2005 and they went into the World Cup expected to be the best performing home nation. But their big-name players are prone to go missing at key times. Can they recover from the World Cup debacle?

Did you know?

Ireland will come up against two former coaches during the Six Nations – Warren Gatland, who is now with Wales, and England supremo Brian Ashton.

Scott hastings' verdict

ULSTER and Leinster's stuttering performances in the Heineken Cup do not bode well for Ireland, especially on the back of their poor form at the World Cup. Coach Eddie O'Sullivan has kept well out of the spotlight and will look to the one bright spot in Irish rugby and the players of Munster. Their dogged determination saw them qualify for their tenth Heineken Cup quarter-final and O'Sullivan will look to the experience laced through the team for inspiration. John Hayes will undoubtedly scrummage alongside the rough nugget of a hooker, Jerry Flannery, although Bernard Jackman's form for Leinster has been impressive.

Ireland have plenty experience in the backrow with the likes of David Wallace and Jamie Heaslip. The second row pairing of Donncha O'Callaghan and Malcolm O'Kelly will mean that Ireland will field an experienced pack but they have to have structure in their game. The lead will come from the half-backs Peter Stringer and Ronan O'Gara although Eoin Reddan from Wasps may yet put Stringer under pressure for the No.9 shirt.

Ireland will always rely on their talisman, Brian O'Driscoll, but the old heads of Gordon D'Arcy, Shane Horgan, Girvan Dempsey and Geordan Murphy have to start shining again if they are to hold off the claims from the likes of Tommy Bowe, Luke Fitzgerald, Andrew Trimble and Rob Kearney.

My Six Nations Routine: Keith Wood

It's funny but I've never watched a lot of international rugby or enjoyed the craic of international weekends in the way you might think. When I was young I was always playing rugby, and when I was in the Ireland side it wasn't like you'd be out on the town after games. I struggled a bit after I retired and really didn't want to go to the internationals, but now that four or five years has gone by I feel really comfortable with it all. I've always loved the history and tradition of it all, that great sense of nationalistic rivalry, and I can revel in that.
The day itself is spent doing prep with the BBC, for whom I commentate, while immediately before and after games I do some corporate hospitality work for RBS, so have a few hundred guests to deal with. The night after a match in Dublin I'll go out on the town with some friends or colleagues, although I don't go to one particular pub. We'll head up to the area around St Stephens Green and go to the Merrion or the Shelbourne for a drink. If we're hungry we might go to the Unicorn, which is a great restaurant, as is the Town Bar & Grill. I live in London so I love getting back to Dublin, and these are the only rugby oriented things I do so I really savour the whole weekend. I'm falling in love with the tournament all over again and love visiting Paris and Rome, which has been a magnificent success as a venue. My dearest hope now is that Argentina can also be included and that they play in Spain – how good would that be?