Pool D Ireland v Georgia: Gerry Thornleyhears from Denis Leamy about getting into the right frame of mind and rediscovering the necessary mean streak.

Of the 15 "Untouchables" few are now more untouchable than Denis Leamy. The strongest Irish player in contact, and one of their most potent ball carriers, Leamy was one of the few shafts of light as darkness descended over the Stade Chaban-Delmas last Sunday. But even he could have sustained his performance better over the 80 minutes. There's more to come from him too.

Leamy knows as well as anyone that Ireland haven't been playing well.

There's a hint of anxiousness and frustration in his voice. Physically, he feels good; he's at his ideal weight, he's injury free and his speed is there. But he maintains game time is a major issue and draws comparisons with the run-in players would normally have had entering an autumnal series.

Last Sunday he felt like his game was starting to come back.

Dictats from the IRB about rucking with the feet and the early spate of suspensions have neutered Ireland's aggression at the breakdown. He talks about rediscovering their mean streak, about getting lower and using their shoulders to clear away bodies.

"It's a headset," he reckons. "I think a lot of things to do with contact work - scrummaging, mauling, tackling even - it's the top three inches. You can have the biggest guys and the smallest guys but once you get your head right and focus on making your tackle or doing something in contact you generally do it."

You wouldn't have particularly wanted to swap places with the players this week, not least as they're cocooned in a lakeside hotel on the outskirts of Bordeaux with little in the way of distractions or interests.

They'd possibly be better off in the heartbeat of Bordeaux, sampling the atmosphere, moving among the people and the relatively few Irish supporters who've stayed the week rather than commuting from elsewhere in France or from home. A team of the people, so to speak, Munster-style.

That opening performance has put extra weight on their shoulders, and though it's nothing yet like the pressure burdening the home squad in their Marcoussis (aka Marcatraz), Île-de-France, base, it's liable to be cranked up a few notches next week.

"There's a lot of pressure and that's fair enough," says Leamy, speaking like a true modern-day professional. It's the life they lead now and, he says, "It's something you want. You want to play in big games, you want to be involved in places like this, you don't want to be on the outside looking in. You want to be there in the centre of it and enjoying that pressure."

Leamy likes the French rugby culture and remembers fairly vividly his first few minutes in the Heineken European Cup in January 2001.

"It was a red-hot day," he recalls with a smile, in reference more to the atmosphere. "I remember being in awe of the crowd. Every decision, whether it was a blatant knock-on by a Perpignan player, was contested by the crowd. I remember thinking, 'this is real serious stuff.' It's partisan at worst but when I came on the pitch the buzz in your ear was great.

"I really enjoyed it. They bring something special, they bring a great culture to the game and we're very lucky that France is a major rugby-playing country."

The pressure is intensified by being drawn in the Pool of Sharks, and Argentina's stunning opening-night win over France.

"It's a real melting pot. Everyone's feeling it - the supporters and the players. That result (the opener) just made the group a whole lot more interesting, and it was interesting to start with. I wasn't surprised that Argentina won, to be honest."

The flip side for Ireland is that France will be fighting for their lives next Friday night in Paris, but that, of course, will intensify the heat on them.

"Pressure is a big thing in sport. It can, at times, make you or break you. If you're not right, it's very hard to cope with, so hopefully their fans and their press keep getting on top of them."

He saw traces of that last Friday: "As the game wore on the more and more mistakes they made; they were choking a bit.

"Not like France. You saw the best of France when they came to Dublin. For 20, 25 minutes they just played us off the park with side-to-side rugby, handling, skills, steps and speed, everything; it's just so hard to defend against.

"The Argies shut them down at the breakdown, tackled like madmen, put the ball in the air, knock-on after knock-on. It really was cup rugby. The Argies hardly put the ball past Felipe (Contepomi). They really just played a tight game and choked the life out of it."

If there was a hint of admiration in his voice, it's possibly because the nature of Argentina's win brought to mind some of Munster's triumphs on French soil in recent years.

"Yeah, we have played very similarly, and there's definitely a strong argument for playing French sides, no matter international or club, like that."

Leamy has managed to take in plenty of other games and was suitably impressed by New Zealand. He's itching for a tilt at the big guns and is a big admirer of Jerry Collins for the way he has changed his game.

"Five or six years ago, he would have been seen as a bosh merchant and taking contact, and probably not playing with his head up. Maybe he was always a skilful player and I just didn't see it, but he's added that very good footballing side of him," says Leamy, comparing Collins's try against Italy to Brian O'Driscoll's against Namibia.

Leamy always had a good running game and good hands, something he attributes to working with his brothers from a young age in a competitive way.

"I was always confident in my skills but I think Alan Gaffney raised them even higher. I'd give him a lot of credit for what he did at Munster. He formed a very good group of players and I think he raised the skill levels by 20 per cent in Munster. I give him an awful lot of credit for what I've gone on to do. It's exactly what I needed at the time."

Obliged to watch the last World Cup from the family home in Tipperary or from Cork, where he was a student at the time, while nursing a knee injury, Leamy has been on a steady upward journey ever since, and now he's here in France he doesn't intend having any regrets.

"The best players are here. You want to be here. Everybody is talking about the World Cup and everybody wants to be at the World Cup. All the top-class players are here, the buzz is here, the fans are here - this is where you want to play rugby.

"It's a great opportunity and you don't want to be looking back in the years to come with regrets. This is the now and the chance we've been given."