Share

Tough road ahead for Irish

New Plymouth - Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll left the field with a bitter taste in his mouth Sunday after an unconvincing 22-10 win over the United States in their World Cup opener.

Ahead lay "a huge challenge"; he said if the Irish are to erase the nightmare of the last World Cup in 2007 when they failed to make the play-off stages for the first time.

Also in Pool C are Australia and Italy, with a second half burst carrying the Wallabies to a 32-6 win over the Azzurri earlier in the day.

Against the United States, played against the emotional backdrop of the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks Ireland fumbled and bumbled their way through most of the game.

With the tight defence put up by the lowly-ranked Americans, Ireland had an abundance of possession and could only manage three tries - two to Tommy Bowe and one to Rory Best - and gave away an intercept try at the end of the game.

"There were aspects which were disappointing for sure but the most important thing was we broke our losing sequence and we won the game," said O'Driscoll after Ireland lost their four warm up games before the World Cup.

"If we were relying on bonus points to get us through the group stages we're going to be in trouble," he said.

"I think there were some good aspects to it. We took our tries extremely well but when it finishes on an intercept and you don't have a chance for a riposte for that it leaves bitter taste in your mouth."

Part of Ireland's problems lay in the service from rookie halves pairing Conor Murray and Jonathan Sexton and they scored two tries in quick succession after the more experienced Eoin Reddan and Ronan O'Gara came on early in the second half.

But O'Driscoll said Ireland's biggest problem was not being clinical enough when required and the speed of their ruck ball left a lot to be desired and "now comes the huge challenge playing Australia."

Ireland's second game is against Australia in Auckland on September 17.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
25% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1472 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2251 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE