O'Sullivan discards 'plucky Irish' tag

Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan hopes to shake-off the 'plucky Irish' tag as he takes his team into the World Cup quarter-finals…

Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan hopes to shake-off the 'plucky Irish' tag as he takes his team into the World Cup quarter-finals against France this weekend.

Australian commentators described the Irish effort in the 17-16 loss to Australia as 'gallant', but O'Sullivan does not want to be associated with such terms.

"I don't want it to be 'lucky' or 'gallant' Ireland," said O'Sullivan.

"This was a game (v Australia) in which we were organised on attack and defence and we analysed our opponents very carefully," he said.

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Tyrone Howe has arrived in Melbourne as a replacement for the injured Denis Hickie. The Ulster winger, who has 10 Ireland caps and toured with the Lions, flew into Australia early this morning and trained with the team.

PA