The big man allows himself a glimpse beyond this year’s Six Nations
Paul O’Connell has revealed, in an interview with The Guardian, that Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has been drilling a Six Nations game-plan to defeat Italy into his players’ heads for the past six weeks. The New Zealander, he says, has not allowed his squad to look beyond a tricky opener against the Azzurri at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.
While Schmidt’s charges are focused on the immediate job at hand, his captain indulged himself with some World Cup gazing.
O’Connell says, ‘If you can lift the World Cup you will go down in history. Look at the English team that won it in 2003 – the only northern hemisphere nation to have ever done that. Those guys are legends. It would be great to fulfil our potential and play to the best of our ability in this year’s World Cup.’
The Munster lock has reached two quarter-finals, in 2003 and 2011, and experienced the deflation of a group stage exit in 2007. It is a chastening experience, he says, that will live with him forever and one that he still struggles to explain.
Ireland were third in the world rankings entering the 2007 tournament. It is a position they once again find themselves in after a run of nine wins in 10 Tests, with a 2014 Six Nations championship amid the triumphs. ‘Being number three in the world seven years ago was probably a big deal,’ he comments. ‘This time round we’ve learnt it’s largely irrelevant.’
Ireland face nine international matches, all against Nothern Hemisphere opposition, before the World Cup kicks off but the captain and coach are presiding over a team that should have a genuine chance of going deep in the tournament. Still, O’Connell says Ireland ‘need a lot of things to go your way’ to claim the Webb Ellis trophy.
He adds, ‘You need luck with injuries because we don’t have the playing numbers of other countries. But Ireland certainly have a chance of winning the World Cup. You don’t go out and play unless you believe that.’
H/t: The Guardian
