O'Driscoll wary of Scotland threat
Sun, 14 Mar 2010 09:06
Concerned: Ireland captain Brian O\'Driscoll
Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll warned his side and their supporters to be on their guard when they welcome Scotland to Dublin in next weekend's final round of the Six Nations championship.
O'Driscoll marked his 100th Test appearance for Ireland by leading the team to a 27-12 win over Wales at Croke Park on Saturday.
Victory kept alive Irish hopes of a successful Six Nations title defence but, more realistically, put them in line for a fifth Triple Crown in seven years if they defeat Scotland on March 20.
Scotland have yet to win in this Six Nations although they will head to Ireland on the back of a 15-15 draw with old rivals England at Murrayfield.
Ireland, whose dreams of back-to-back Grand Slams disappeared with a 33-10 thrashing by France in Paris, have won their last eight Championship matches against Scotland.
"After the disappointment of losing in France it was our target to win our remaining three games and that's still obtainable," said O'Driscoll.
"It's far from a foregone conclusion against Scotland if people are thinking like that.
"In all the times I've played Scotland they've never made it easy. I anticipate it will be as hard as any of our Six Nations games in recent years.
"We want to be challenging for the Triple Crown and still have an outside chance of the championship.
"It's pleasing with the way we've come back from the disappointment of France."
O'Driscoll's words of warning over Scotland were echoed by Ireland coach Declan Kidney.
"The Scots are well-known for ruining a few Irish parties," Kidney said. "The great thing about this competition is that no two games are alike."
Ireland all but assured themselves of victory against Wales during a 10-minute spell in the first half when they scored two tries, through left wing Keith Earls and scrumhalf Tomas O'Leary, after Welsh fullback Lee Byrne was sin-binned for a professional foul.
"When they went a man down, we upped the tempo, played a lot of rugby and they struggled to live with us," O'Driscoll, only the 13th player to win 100 caps for one country, said.
"We just played a smart game. We didn't play too much rugby but when the opportunity arose, we threw it around," explained the midfielder after captaining Ireland for the 63rd Test.
In the build-up to Saturday's match, O'Driscoll had repeatedly insisted this was just "another game" but afterwards he'd admitted he'd been stunned by the raucous standing ovation he'd received from a capacity Croke Park crowd of over 81,000.
"It was a different day, a different feeling," O'Driscoll said.
"It was probably more emotional than I thought it would be. It's a massive honour to play for my country a hundred times. The reception I received was an extra with winning today. I'm delighted for the boys, the staff and the great squad who didn't get to put the jersey on."
Ireland's Gordon D'Arcy limped off midway through the first half against Wales but Kidney said O'Driscoll's centre partner had avoided a major injury.
"Gordon took a blow above his knee but the structure of the knee is fine. We think it's just a heavy dead leg," said Kidney.
"He's already had treatment and 48 hours can make a huge difference with this type of injury. We'll know more on Monday."
AFP
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