Hickie still setting his sights high

Denis Hickie has branded the criticism of Eddie O'Sullivan's side as typically Irish and to be expected after the team made their ambitions clear ahead of the World Cup.

Speaking ahead of the crucial Pool  D game against Georgia in Bordeaux, Hickie said the team does not make any apologies for setting sights high and will continue to do so, even if the shocking display against Namibia has rallied the critics after just one game in the competition.

"You have to say how you feel about these things - it's typical that us saying we want to win the World Cup is now being used as a stick to beat us," he said. "We said we want to win it (World Cup) and when we start playing badly, everyone tells us we're not going to win the World Cup. It's a very Irish thing to do.

"We are ambitious and aren't in the competition to reach a quarter-final," added the winger. "We have to say we want to win it. It's part of the Irish psyche to hide your lights under a bushel, but there comes a time when you can't kid people.

"We have to say this is what we're aiming for. If people want to use our ambition as a stick to beat us, there is nothing we can do about it.

"We don't regret being ambitious because if weren't, we would not be doing our jobs properly."

Hickie himself was guilty of some dreadful handling errors in the 32-17 win over Namibia, though the early ones appeared the result of a heavy hit he took in the opening stages.

The performance, he says, was down to the inability of the players to perform to their potential and not due to a failure in tactics or preparation.

"After the Namibia game there was no sense that the tactics had gone wrong or the preparation had gone wrong," added the 31-year-old. "That was all very good. Instead as individuals we were very poor - we produced 39 turnovers which is more than double in any other international.

"The coach can only tell you so much about what to do - if you can't hold onto the ball, then start making bad decisions, there is nothing the management can do about it.

"We played like a team that is inexperienced rather than one that has been together a long time. We're very annoyed with ourselves."

Little wonder then that the players were criticised for failing to live up to their own hype.

O'Sullivan, however, has been questioned for showing too much faith in his 'strongest' 15 and selecting the usual suspects to face Georgia; a decision which effectively relegated a number of players to the wilderness, barring a litany of injuries.

Hickie, who retires after the tournament, is grateful for the second opportunity, but claims the entire team could have been changed given the performance last Sunday.

"We are no under illusions - if you don't play well then you have to take what's coming to you," he said, despite there being just one change for Saturday's game as Shane Horgan was predictably reintroduced to the right wing in place of the injured Andrew Trimble.

"It's fantastic that Eddie has given us another chance. Mind you, he would have had to drop the whole team if he was punishing people for their mistakes because we all played badly. We must improve.

"The guys are very keen to put things right. We're conscious that a lot of fans have come over to France to watch us and there are high expectations.

"We like that, we can use that energy, but we must pay their support back. We are a lot better than we have shown recently."

Let's hope so. Ireland need more than a result on Saturday, they need a performance. Something resembling the Six Nations wins over England and Italy earlier this year would help galvanise an under fire team.

It would also go some way to silence the dissenting voices, who, because they were told to, expected so much more.