INTERVIEW PAUL O'CONNELL:PAUL O'CONNELL'S face creases into a smile. He's been ribbed about the inadvertent collision of his knee with Brian O'Driscoll's temple during Ireland's 20-16 victory over England at Twickenham framed as a deliberate act perpetrated with the goal of snaffling the Irish captaincy.
Well he’s not really. It’s just a detour to an inquiry that has a more genuine undertone.
On Saturday O’Driscoll will make his 100th appearance for the national team and O’Connell has been invited to offer a homily to the centurion.
He pauses for a moment to consider his answer. “It’s incredible. He talks a lot about people leading by example and I think that’s what he does more than anyone. Your best player very often isn’t your greatest defender or your greatest tackler, but I think Brian’s biggest strength has been his defence and his ability to poach on the ground.
“He takes unbelievable punishment for a guy who would be considered a flamboyant player. He takes unbelievable punishment in the tackle and the ruck. For a team it’s inspiring and it’s a great way to lead a team. He’s set a standard for players across the board.
“He’s a complete player and that’s what everybody aspires to be, the complete player both in defence and attack. That’s what Brian does for us.
“Irish rugby struggled in the 1990s and we play with a lot more confidence now. A lot of that confidence has come on the back of Brian’s play and his own attitude.”
O’Driscoll will appreciate the sentiments, but will be the first to emphasise that Saturday is not about him but the pursuit of a victory over Wales.
The Ireland captain has previously stated that when he is no longer in a position to tog out for matches he might allow his mind to dwell on some of the accolades and milestones he’s encountered in his career. O’Connell would share that philosophy.
Victory over England was a decent antidote to the disappointment of Paris but Saturday’s visitors to Croke Park present a different puzzle. Wales have demonstrated a Lazarus-like quality in their second-half performances to date. O’Connell knows that they remain dangerous opponents when on the front foot.
“They’ve (Wales) probably been a bit unlucky with those intercepts and that’s probably put them on the back foot. But they’ve finished games very, very well. They are still playing a great brand of rugby and they are a very dangerous side.”
At the start of the season, Ireland coach Declan Kidney explained the need to develop patterns and parameters of play that suggested a more expansive philosophy. O’Connell argues the immediate priority is to cut down on the number of mistakes.
“We’ll try and get better at what we are doing. Whatever about expanding the style, if that comes as a consequence of getting better at what we want to do, then great. We need to cut out some of our mistakes. You look at the France game and a bit of the England game, and if we cut out those mistakes we’ll be in much better shape. For us it’s about doing the simple things well rather than playing an expansive style of rugby.
“If we do that then the off-loads begin to come and we actually look like we’re playing a more expansive style if we do the simple things well. That’s where we need to get to and at times we got there against England but probably not as much as we would like to.
“Sometimes when you run hard, when you clean rucks very well and you get good, quick ball that’s when you can make more for off-loads, make for more passes and you look like you’re playing a more expansive style. Really it probably comes from running hard and creating quick ball. If we can do that our style will look more expansive but it will come from being good at what we do.”
Despite their injury concerns, O’Connell is adamant the Welsh squad boasts plenty of depth and that while any team would miss players like Gethin Jenkins and Alun Wyn Jones, their replacements are capable of stepping up to the mark.
Two years ago Warren Gatland’s side came to Croke Park and won. It’s a statistic that hasn’t escaped the Irish squad who want to ensure their final two matches in Croke Park before returning across the Liffey harbour are happy memories.
“We had a disappointing performance that day (2008) and they (Wales) were playing with a lot of confidence. They put one over on us, and that will be a big motivation as well. We’re coming to the end of our time in Croke Park and it will be a big motivation to finish on a high there.
“We have two games left in the Six Nations, both at home, and we’re hoping for a good run-in. But it’s going to be a tough challenge. It’s been great; it’s been an incredible time there. We’ve had full crowds and incredible atmospheres. The Aviva Stadium is going to be a great place for us to go. It’s the real home of Irish rugby, but while we’ve been there, Croke Park has been good to us.”
Ireland will want to ensure any tears of farewell are joy-based when the time comes and the first task is to win on Saturday.
