Paul O’Connell has predicted a fiercely close Six Nations Championship, and said that Ireland have developed great strength in depth coming into a World Cup year.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, O’Connell said that Ireland had turned the page on last year’s championship win and were now focused on the challenge presented by Italy in their first game in Rome on 7 February.
“You put the previous year behind you and you get on with it,” O’Connell said. “We had a camp over Christmas, and we’ve had two days in camp since the end of the European Cup games, and the big focus has been on Italy.”
Looking ahead to the game against the Italians, O’Connell said: “We haven’t done well there [in Rome] recently. Obviously, I think ROG [Ronan O’Gara] knocked over a drop-goal about four years ago to win there, and we were beaten the last time we were there.
“They do very well, as well, in their first game: I think they barely lost to Wales in Cardiff last season. It’s going to be a very tough game.”
Italy’s strengths are no secret: set-piece prowess and impressive forwards give them the platform from which to challenge their opponents. Knowing this is one thing, dealing with it is another. O’Connell spoke about the challenge it will present for Ireland.
“They’re generally very big props; big strength in depth in that position, and they generally scrummage very well and put teams under pressure there.
“And [they have an] excellent lineout, an excellent defensive lineout. And, you know, when you have a strong set piece, it’s a good start to performing well in tournaments.”
Ireland go into the defensive of the defence of their Six Nations title under pressure to perform; three wins from three in their November series, including wins over South Africa and Australia, has only added to the sense of expectation.
O’Connell said this was natural, but that Joe Schmidt was good at helping the players focusing on what was important.
“Joe is good at narrowing things down, and putting a big focus on what your job is to do in the first game. And when you do that, you can avoid the distractions.”
“Joe is good at narrowing things down, and putting a big focus on what your job is" - Paul O'Connell
Ireland are likely to take to the field in Rome with a much-changed starting line-up from the one that faced France in last season’s dramatic decider.
Along with the retirement of Brian O’Driscoll, long-term injuries have sidelined last year’s rugby writers’ player of the season, Andrew Trimble; IRB world player of the year nominee, Jonathan Sexton; and Chris Henry, who stepped into the breach so ably last year when Sean O’Brien was a late injury.
O’Brien himself is slowly making his return from injury, and may be back in time for the Italy game; so too may Cian Healy and Dave Kearney, returning from long- and short-term injury woes.
With Gordon D’Arcy and Mike Ross no longer certain starters for Leinster, their positions within the Ireland set-up remain unclear. All told, it may mean the side selected will be illustrative of the high rate of player turnover in the modern game. O’Connell acknowledged the effect of injuries, but stressed the opportunities this created.
“Injuries are obviously disappointing, but they create opportunities for other players, and they create strength in depth in the squad,” O’Connell. “We had a number of injuries last season, [and we] still managed to win the championship. So there is good strength in depth in the Irish set-up.”
Ireland are likely to need this strength in depth given how tight the championship is shaping up to be. With the World Cup looming on the horizon, coaches are likely to want to balance pursuit of the Six Nations title with a desire to gain greater clarity on combinations and possible players for the tournament in September.
O’Connell said it was tough to identify a stand-out side, and predicted a tight outcome.
“Obviously it was very tight at the end of last season,” he said.
“England, Wales, France, ourselves are strong; Scotland are getting better and better, [and] scored a lot of tries in the Autumn; and Italy are an excellent side as well – they’re going to cause people problems.
“So it’s very hard to pick a winner, it’s very hard to see a Grand-Slam winner, it’s very hard to pick a championship winner as well.”
