Click here for quotes from Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan from Tuesday’s team announcement press conference in Auckland.
…Eddie O’Sullivan…
– LOOKING AHEAD TO THE SECOND TEST –
“We have picked our team; it makes no difference what side the All Blacks come up with because it’s going to be very tough anyway.
“They will try to wear us down, but I’m sure, like every New Zealand side, they will try to vary the ways they try to do that. We will have to concentrate on our own performance, and it’s that we need to improve. I believe we can improve, and I believe we’re capable of winning if we perform to the top of our form.”
– REFLECTING ON THE FIRST TEST –
“I think the crucial turning point, and I’m not apportioning any blame, was the intercept that turned into a scrum and then turned into a penalty for them. That gave New Zealand the opportunity to go back in front, and it was a key moment.
“Had we retained that ball, we probably would have scored from there, and it would have been a very different game. There were other things; our scrum was under a bit of pressure early on, but it settled down because we sorted out the engagement process. It certainly wasn’t as catastrophic a situation as some people suggested.”
– ON GIVING AWAY PENALTIES –
“I think we defended really, really well for long phases (in the first Test) and then ultimately gave up a soft penalty, which is really the worst possible sin.
“We were under a lot of pressure but I think you’ve got to trust your system and not give away silly penalties and that’s what allowed New Zealand to claw their way back into the game.”
– ON IRELAND’S GAMEPLAN –
“It’s a change in mindset which you then have to complement with a change in skill set to do it and that’s where we are.
“We saw on Saturday when we were accurate we did cause them a lot of problems but at times we weren’t quite as accurate as we need to be.”
– ON IRELAND’S KICKING GAME –
“I suppose we did invent the garryowen and you’re trying to change the habit of 100 years, but the game has changed and we’ve changed our game as well. Of course it’s natural that any player who comes under pressure will revert to what they’re comfortable with…and there is a tendancy at times where we maybe, as a team, revert to kicking when we should keep the ball in hand.
“But there are times even in that scenario that opportunities would arise where you have to run with the football if you’re going to win the game and if you haven’t been doing that consistently you can’t just pull that out of the bottom drawer on the day.”
– ON THE ALL BLACKS MIDFIELD MINUS THE RETIRED TANA UMAGA –
“He (Umaga) was an extraordinarily good player and defence was one of his fortes. His athleticism allowed him to do what most backs can’t do (which was) defend up and out at high speed.
“Most backs defend up slowly and then out. There are very few who can come up and out at speed. Brian O’Driscoll is the same.
“What makes them very good defenders is that they can close down the space in front of them and react quickly to get into the space outside them.
“Tana Umaga was exceptional at that, and his athleticism and his quicklness of thought in that area made the All Blacks midfield very difficult to break down. To replace him is a difficult one.”
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