Paul O'Connell, the Irish rugby coach, expresses his satisfaction with the team's warm-weather training camp in Portugal amidst the stormy conditions back home. He highlights the importance of this break for the players after a demanding year and emphasizes the unique challenge posed by England in the opening fixture of the Six Nations Championship. O'Connell acknowledges England's strengths, particularly their physicality and tactical prowess, while also pointing out areas where Ireland needs to improve, such as lineouts and starting games strongly.
Paul O’Connell happy for warm weather training as Six Nations build-up given Storm Éowyn“It’s good for the players. Players play a lot of tough training weeks, this time of year. You’re generally heading into bad weather, so to come over here for a week feels different for the players and it allows the reconnect.”
“Plenty of times in my career England have been really dominant and sometimes when they have been on the back foot a little bit, it is always probably the most physical game you’ll play in the year, so you know I’m not sure what they will change from the autumn but there was a pretty consistent style around their kicking game, a pretty consistent style around their set piece and they seem to work incredibly hard for each other as well.
“We probably turned over more ball in the autumn than we have in a long time and it’s probably a big strength of ours. So, I think they are two important facets of our game that need a little bit of attention and a little bit of care. Jones’ stay there was shorter lived than expected and he resigned last August before moving back to Dublin.
RUGBY SIX NATIONS ENGLAND IRELAND COACHING
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Paul O'Connell gives insight into Ireland camp ahead of Six NationsIreland face England next Saturday in their opening Six Nations clash
Read more »
O'Toole Misses Six Nations Start Due to Six-Match BanUlster prop Tom O'Toole will be sidelined for the first two rounds of the Six Nations championship after receiving a six-match ban for a dangerous tackle in a pre-Christmas game against Munster.
Read more »
Paul O'Connell remains an invaluable part of the Ireland set-upThe lineout work needs to improve but O’Connell still has a major influence.
Read more »
Paul O’Connell dismisses notion of Leinster bias in selection of Irish squadIreland forwards coach says during selection meetings there has never been a discussion as to what province players come from or who they play with
Read more »
'We've never selected a player because we felt, 'He's playing with Leinster''Ireland’s Paul O’Connell has dismissed the notion of a selection bias towards Leinster players.
Read more »
Latest Sport News: Prendergast's Challenge, Ireland's Six Nations Build-Up and Connacht's GripesThis article covers a range of sports news, including Mike Prendergast's upcoming match against La Rochelle and its potential impact on his Ireland jersey, the buildup to Ireland's Six Nations clash with England, Connacht Rugby's complaints about officials, and Jarlath Burns's involvement in the Naas GAA controversy.
Read more »