Eddie O’Sullivan: Pre-Match Quotes

See below for quotes from Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan from Friday’s pre-match press conference at Croke Park.

ON ENGLAND’S INJURY WORRY OVER JONNY WILKINSON –

“No doubt about it, they’re playing silly buggers. That’s my calm assessment of it. I’ll be amazed if Jonny doesn’t play and I’m also surprised that England are playing silly buggers.

“If I had an out-half like Jonny Wilkinson – and I do – and he had a tight hamstring, the last people I would tell is the media.

“This week, Brian O’Driscoll and Peter Stringer were big calls for us and we didn’t know until Thursday morning and the media were next to know. It’s a bit of a sidebar before the game, I guess, and provides the press with a few inches but as far as I’m concerned, it’s nonsense.”

ON THE GAME ITSELF –

“It’s going to be a phenomenal sporting occasion. What I’d love to see is everybody wearing green and getting as noisy as they can. We’ve often played in these big stadiums and the unfortunate thing for us is that the opposition have been at home. Now, it’s a great opportunity for us.”

ON THE HYPE SURROUNDING THE GAME –

“It’s all about what happens inside the white lines for eighty minutes. My job is to get the players focused on their job which is basically to play a Test game – once the whistle is blown, all those things won’t matter – it’s about getting a big performance, being accurate and getting a result which we almost got the last day.

“We can’t afford any more blips. If we win on Saturday we’re right back in the hunt for the Triple Crown and possibly the championship, and that’s all you can deal with, the here and now.”

ON GETTING OFF TO A GOOD START –

“I still feel there’s an element of our game that has been in darkness for a while. We start games badly, not just at Croke Park, but we do it in Auckland and Hamilton. We do it in Cardiff and did it in Twickenham last year.

“Saturday’s game will be a huge occasion and we have to accept that but we can’t let it get in the way of the job.

“We had our routine at Lansdowne Road that we were comfortable with. In fact, when you think about it, we have been to Twickenham more than we have Croke Park.

“The fellas get routines in their head, get comfortable with their surroundings. I like to think on Saturday we will be settled in more. At this level it is the top four inches that are the most important part. It’s mental errors that can hurt you. If you flinch for a second, you can get caught.”