Paul O’Connell believes Ireland needs to use their experience from big games, like winning in New Zealand and the Six Nations Grand Slam, in order to beat South Africa.
The best rugby team in the world faces the current champions this Saturday in an important Rugby World Cup game in Paris. Ireland has won their last 15 matches, including beating the All Blacks away as well as defeating the Springboks in Dublin last November.
Andy Farrell’s team might be seen as the ones that have little chance of winning at Stade de France, but O’Connell, who coaches the forwards, has this belief that the team can find a way to achieve another impressive victory. He mentioned that it will need a strong performance.
“They obviously have a big challenge physically, but I think we have a big challenge physically, and we have a big challenge technically.
“They have a very smart side, and probably one of the things you admire most about them is the intelligence they can bring along with their physicality.
“Let us talk about this Irish team and what this Irish team represents because that is also the strength of our team.” “They have to bring everything they brought with them to the big functions they have attended in recent years.
We have been in important matches before, like the one in New Zealand and the Grand Slam game. We have also faced strong teams in the autumn series. In those situations, the team has always managed to find a way to succeed.
“It’s a real strength of theirs.
“They need to play really, really well, and when they face difficult moments, they must work together to find solutions. I like watching them when they face tough moments and figure things out as a team. They will need to do that this weekend.”
Ireland had impressive bonus point wins over Romania and Tonga, leaving them with a chance to reach the quarter-finals with one game remaining.
They have won 27 of their last 29 Test matches dating back to the 2021 Six Nations, and head coach Farrell has been open about adversity throughout his tenure.
A day after France captain Antoine Dupont suffered a facial fracture against Namibia, O’Connell admitted Ireland will have to adapt and deal with setbacks in what will be their biggest test of the tournament.
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Things are Never Simple
“Things are never simple,” he said. “When we were in New Zealand last summer, I remember meeting Mack. He had to train by himself in the park because he had Covid. Some of the coaches were also sick.”
“We faced all kinds of challenges. “Andy’s big strength is that he enjoys it and has fun with it. There will definitely be ups and downs during the World Cup, and there will be ups and downs during the matches as well.
“The experience of our players and their willingness to rise to these challenges and obstacles has led them to where they are today. “There’s going to be a lot of that tomorrow, there’s no doubt about that.”
