SURROUNDED BY Puma merchandise at sponsor headquarters in Blanchardstown, Tommy Bowe and Jamie Heaslip had few problems putting a positive spin on what transpired last Saturday in Paris.
The vibe with Bowe and Heaslip – established as Ireland’s newest world-class players alongside Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell (Stephen Ferris will be added to the list once he strings together an injury-free run) – is that of two chilled-out operators.
Both believe anything is possible with Ireland. Both have felt this way throughout their professional careers, having been a part of the Ireland Under-21 team that reached the World Cup final in 2004. A comprehensive defeat in Paris is not going to break their stride. It’s not that they are born winners. Heaslip reminds us of his schoolboy days at Newbridge College. Central cogs in the coming generation of Irish players who will be trusted with leadership roles, confidence is not an issue.
“To say I know how to lose doesn’t sound quiet right but, yeah, it wasn’t easy losing,” said Heaslip. “We controlled the game and played well for large portions of it but they were very clinical, punished us for mistakes. We didn’t think the scoreboard reflected the game. Confidence wise? No, not at all. I have complete belief in the squad’s ability and myself. You don’t need motivation for Twickenham. The shame was it wasn’t on Sunday.”
There wasn’t a trace of arrogance in Heaslip’s tone or manner when asked about how he fared against Imanol Harinordoquy. “The guy’s got pace, skills. I can’t knock him. I like going up against good players. I gave him a good run. I don’t know how I fared, I haven’t watched the video so I’m not going to say, but I gave him a good run. He had a great game himself.”
Bowe headed from Blanchardstown to Busáras to get the evening departure to his native Monaghan as his car is stranded in Swansea.
It was remarked in the mountain of analysis the great sides take their chances when presented. Before half-time in Paris, Ireland probed the try-line but, due to a handling error, went off without reward. “We’d be critical we haven’t scored enough tries,” said Bowe. “The top teams score tries against the best teams in the world and we have ambitions of being up there with the best and beating the best. To do that, we have to start scoring more tries. If it’s a case of us being in the 22, it’s not just being happy with three points. We want to get over the line.”
The doom and gloom merchants are mentioned, but Heaslip refuses to give them any satisfaction. “People said it to me after the game ‘ah, sure we still have the Triple Crown’ and I’m kind of going, ‘Ah, for f**k’s sake, there’s still a Six Nations to be won, still a championship to be won’. Nothing’s over, we won the Heineken Cup last year after we lost in our group. It happens, you lose games. You have to be able to bounce back and be more consistent.”
