By Daniel Gilhooly
June 5th 2008 @ 2:16am
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Dangerous Ireland in rugby limbo
Saturday’s Test against the All Blacks falls into the rugby twilight zone for an Irish team feeding off their underdog status.
All Blacks coach Graham Henry accepts his new-look side’s first Test of the year heralds a new era but Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll can’t be so black and white.
Coach Eddie O’Sullivan resigned after seven years in charge when his team limped into fourth place in the recent Six Nations.
It followed a World Cup campaign comparable with New Zealand’s for disappointment, having failed to advance from pool play.
However, O’Sullivan’s replacement Declan Kidney made himself unavailable for this season-ending tour to Australasia for logistical reasons, having overseen Munster’s victorious European Cup campaign which ended less than two weeks ago.
The task of coaching the tourists fell to former Ireland halfback and Ireland A coach Michael Bradley.
O’Driscoll reckoned it left he and his teammates in a mental limbo, and therefore with a dangerous sense of liberation.
“It’s strange because this is a new era but not quite yet because the management is going to change again. We’ll have a mini-new era and then another new era in November,” O’Driscoll said.
“We have to look at this as a great opportunity to put some of the wrongs of the Six Nations and World Cup (behind us) and finish the season on a high.
“It’s a little bit of a freebie if you like.”
O’Driscoll was happy to heap pressure on the All Blacks, citing the hosts’ obvious desire to scrub out memories of their last test, the World Cup quarterfinal loss to France, as well as keep their unbeaten record against Ireland.
“They’re the ones that have the record and always a greater level of expectation than we have so I would think that the pressure is back on them,” he said.
“There probably isn’t a huge level of expectation back home. We’ve never beaten the All Blacks so people will be wondering why should this be the time?”
O’Driscoll believed his side would be physically tired but had no doubt they could lift for this weekend and next week against Australia in Melbourne.
“You can get your head around having only two games left in the season, that’s not particularly difficult,” he said.
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kilima said | June 6th 2008 @ 2:59am | Report comment
Just hope the New Zealanders don’t count chickens before hatching, and v England too. Although they must be firm favourites, I record my experience at Waterloo Station (England) in October on our way to Marseilles for 2 qtr finals there — over a barrier there, a group of about 30 Kiwis were on their way to Brussels — making contact with fellow rugby fans, I remarked “You guys should be travelling in the opposite direction , wetswards to Cardiff” —– “No we’re OK mate, we’ve only bought tickets for the semis and the final” — I replied (with tongue in cheek!) “But you won’t even get that far !!” —- my newly found friend merely turned away and proceeded up the stairs —- if have often thought about this guy and all his colleagues and asked myself “Did they really enjoy the semis and the final?” If the guy with whom I had this exchange reads this I would love to hear from him and even buy him a beer in sympathy. — kilima