‘IT’S GONE A BIT OLD SCHOOL’ – PAUL O’CONNELL RELISHING BREAKDOWN BATTLE AGAINST SPRINGBOKS

He was no shrinking violet during his playing days and Paul O’Connell is already excited about the contest that’s coming this Saturday at Loftus Versfeld.

Ireland are deep in enemy territory and the drums are beating in Pretoria where Rassie Erasmus was at his bombastic best after naming a vastly-experienced team for Saturday’s first Test.

Ireland are spending the week 45 minutes down the road and their full squad trained at the St Peter’s College school in Johannesburg this morning. O’Connell says they’re all available.

O’Connell agreed that playing South Africa away from home is the biggest challenge in rugby right now, but he says the Irish players are ready to meet it.

“Certainly at the moment it is,” he said.

“They are world champions, they have good continuity in their playing group, they know wat they stand for and I’d say there is a lot of confidence in their group at the moment.

“It’s a massive challenge for us to be away from home and down here, but our boys are looking forward to it.”

The agenda will be set by the team that gets on top at the ruck.

“The breakdown has become a massive part of the game everywhere. You look at the French final, the European Cup final, you look at France, South Africa and the way they are playing, it is a real battlefield,” he said.

“It’s gone back a little bit old school where teams are a lot more willing to risk putting numbers into the breakdown and creating a little bit of havoc in that breakdown.

“Teams have gotten very good at choosing their moments based on the position on the field that a team is in, to go after certain breakdowns.

“They are very good at sensing a little bit of vulnerability, whether it is numbers, or someone with a bad body shape at a ruck.

“The decision making at a breakdown has almost become like the decision making that players have with ball in hand of the decision making that players do when they are attacking. IT’s a big challenge for us.

“Any time ta you play South Africa, the breakdown is always a big challenge.

“Our boys really enjoy it as well, we have some excellent poachers, some excellent counter-ruckers, very good decision makers at the breakdown, it will be a big part of the game at the weekend.”

Earlier, South Africa named a strong side for the first Test with 20 of the 23-man squad having featured in the World Cup final.

“I got a quick glance at their team. It’s be a big thing for anything team that is successful is that kind of continuity,” he said.

“You look at any of the club sides that have been successful in recent times they have continuity of coaching, continuity of players, continuity of leadership. They are in a strong position and it is an excellent side that they have named.”

Both teams are at the end of long seasons, but O’Connell doesn’t believe fatigue will be a factor.

“We are lucky in terms of how we manage the players,” he said.

“It’s probably been a long year but the players have gotten plenty of time off in the year, weeks where you are not training, you are not playing, you don’t have the mental pressure that comes with a game.

“Players tend to be on different journeys, some were out of things a little bit earlier, got a little bit of time, that mental and physical break, some guys pick up an injury during the year and they get their break there.

“Whenever we have come on tour in the last few years, or whenever we have come together after a particularly heavy period with the provinces we have always noticed our players….there is never a feeling that we have to manage them or manage their load. We haven’t flet that over here.

“We were a little bit careful with the travel, we arrived in two groups at different times and we were careful in that first (training) session. We haven’t changed how we have trained a whole lot in terms of if this was a November Test or a Six Nations match.

“Andy and the staff would have a good feel for that but we haven’t felt the need to do so.

“Players feel fresh, good and they feel ready. I know that SA have a few players away playing in France but a lot of them are home-based and they get that chance to manage them and manage their load as well.

“There won’t be an asterisk after the result, saying who was fresher. It is what it is.”

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