Best: We need to step up to the plate
RORY Best (pictured) insists Ireland have to step up to the table and put on their best ever performance in Paris tonight if they are to enjoy a rare away win over the French in the Six Nations Championship.
A solitary victory since 1972 is all the Irish have to show from four decades of campaigning in Paris.
Urgency to end that abysmal record has been added by last weekend’s agonising 23-21 loss to Wales, a result that has left their Six Nations teetering on the brink of disaster after just one round.
Previous attempts at storming the Stade de France have been undermined by kamikaze starts that have gifted Les Bleus an unassailable position.
On two occasions, in 2006 and 2008, they fought back valiantly and threatened to reel in their opponents, but ultimately had left themselves with too much ground to make up.
Best said: “We can’t do our usual and go to Paris and be 20 points down after 20 minutes. We know that.
“There’s something about going to Paris that in the first half-hour or 20 minutes we try to play them at their own game.
“There are times when we’ve been 20 points down but finished strongly with chances to win it and you get sick of that.
“We have to go there and must not get carried away with what they’re doing. It’s about implementing our game plan.
“We want to play a quick tempo game, but we can’t let it get too loose.
“France are very dangerous in broken field play. If we can’t beat them up front and deny them ball, we’ll go a long way to beating them.
“When you watch the Top 14, they pride themselves on their forward play. We need to match and better that.”
Ireland’s philosophical public outlook on the manner of their final-minute defeat to Wales masks a burning sense of injustice.
The disciplinary hearing convened to examine Stephen Ferris’ tackle on Ian Evans stated that the Ireland flanker should not have been penalised, never mind sin-binned or cited.
Leigh Halfpenny kicked the penalty to secure a dramatic late victory. Best, however, believes Ireland should look closer to home when explaining the result.
“Once you start to feel grievance and start to blame the referee, you’ll never get over it,” he said.
“We know that we had opportunities to put the game out of reach, but we didn’t take them and let ourselves down.”
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Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 29 May 2012
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