Quinlan Out Of World Cup

If you have to go out of the tournament because of an injury – that was the way to go out said victorious Irish coach Eddie O’Sullivan, in salute of Quinlan’s great performance

If you have to go out of the tournament because of an injury – that was the way to go out said victorious Irish coach Eddie O’Sullivan, in salute of Alan Quinlan’s great performance – his third try of the event.

The player himself confirmed that the injury does rule him out of further World Cup action.

It was great to score the try but further consolation is that I do not need surgery. I will be back in action between four and six weeks. In the meantime I would like to stay on in Australia for a while and start my re-hab programme here.

It was certainly a jubilant day for coach O’Sullivan, whose team and tactics finally exorcised Irish rugby of the stain left by the loss to Argentina at the same stage in Lens four years ago.

Hilton Hotel, headquarters to the Irish squad, reverberated to the songs of vast numbers of Irish supporters well into the night. The Irish team needed a dozen local police officers to create a passageway for the players and management in order to get them into the hotel, where they gathered with family, friends and well wishers.

O’Sullivan admitted that, my life did flash before me a few times during the dramatic second half countdown and he asked the media that from now on we don’t mention the two words Argentina and Lens ever again in the same sentence at an Irish press conference.

At the conference, prop forward Reggie Corrigan declined to comment on suggestions that his early second half withdrawal was as a consequence of having an eye gouged by an Argentinean forward.

“There was an incident and it resulted in me leaving the pitch – but other than that I do not want to make any comment said the Irish prop diplomatically.

Ireland leave Adelaide tomorrow (Monday) en route to Melbourne to prepare for their final Pool A game against the reigning World Cup champions Australia on Saturday night.

We have got to change our focus now and think about Australia but at least we are doing so without the pressure of having to win to qualify for the knock out stages. We have achieved that goal and some of the pressure is off us. But we still feel we can go the whole way and win the group said O’Sullivan.