Ronan O'Gara, Man of the Match in Ireland's 35-8 victory over Samoa on Sunday, knows his side will have to step up their performance by several gears if they are to trouble the mighty All Blacks at Lansdowne Road next Saturday. The Munster man scored 14 points against the Samoans, and although Ireland were without several first choice players, he insisted Warren Gatland's men would have to show significant improvement if they are to beat the touring New Zealanders.
He stressed: "It was very physical out there today. There were a lot of nerves with a number of our players getting a rare chance to play at this level. Our performance was workmanlike more than anything. We will need to step up on it quite a bit if we are to trouble the All Blacks. The Samoans posed a big threat to us. They have two great centres in Lima and Tuigamala and they managed to get through our defence once or twice. That is something we will have to work on over the next week."
Gatland, a Kiwi himself, agreed that an significant improvement will be needed if the home side are to maintain their impressive recent form, which has seen them record deserved victories over Wales and England to earn them second spot in the Six Nations campaign. He also said he felt his side had made too many turnovers in the opening half especially. He admitted: "We had something like 12 turnovers in the first period alone. That is simply too many at this level. We also need to get more phases of possession going. Our play tended to break down too easily. The win will give us confidence, coming on the back of the victory over England. However, I felt we were a bit flat in the first half when some of our play lacked urgency."
However, Gatland is confident his side can upset the tourists and confirm Ireland's re-emergence in the world game. He added: "We are all looking forward to next weekend's game. It is a huge challenge for us. New Zealand are touring with a new squad. But with every player fit and well in the squad we have the chance to rattle them."
Filed by Shane Murray
