O'Sullivan sees no reason for change

Confirmation that Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan was as happy as the rest of the country with the win over England came today when he announced an unchanged starting XV for Saturday's Triple Crown decider against Scotland in Murrayfield.

The only change in personnel for the match day squad was confirmed yesterday when Wasps scrumhalf Eoin Reddan was brought in to replace the injured Isaac Boss on the bench.  The Ulsterman's shoulder injury may even rule him out of contention for the Italy game on March 17th.

Other than that the coach is happy that the same personnel can deliver his third Triple Crown in four years.  Brian O'Driscoll will also reach a landmark when he equals Keith Wood's record for games as captain. The centre will lead the side out for the 36th time on the day of his 73rd cap.

"I think the last performance against England was very good, so I didn't see any compelling reason for changing it," said O'Sullivan this afternoon. And for a man who has for so long preached the importance of always bettering the last performance, he was briefly at a loss to explain how to do that this time around.

"It was right up there, in fairness," he said of the win over England. "All aspects were good, the set-pieces were very good, our continuity game was good, our defence was excellent, it was very aggressive, our tackle count was quite and we basically didn't make too many mistakes. We were very solid.

"The challenge is always to try and keep your performance up there. I don't think there are any guarantees you can do that. All you can do is go out and try and replicate that and if not replicate it, improve on it. But it's a tall order."

"If we can play better than we played against England it would be great but it would be more important if we won the game," added O'Sullivan, before reminding the assembly that a game in Murrayfield is far flung from a home tie, and the Triple Crown is not secured yet.  But is it as valuable as it once was for a team with loftier ambitions of late?

"There is always the danger that familiarity breeds contempt but I still think the Triple Crown is worth winning," said the coach. "I suppose if we win too many Triple Crown's people will write them off, but for a long time, we'd have bought the lid of it if we could have."

O'Sullivan deflected suggestions that he may have been tempted to change the hooker.  Ulster's Rory Best has started every game so far and has clearly pleased the coach with his contribution.  To include Jerry Flannery instead, does not make sense.

"I couldn't imagine why I'd want to change the hooker," said O'Sullivan. "I said going into the Six Nations I'd pick what I thought was the best team going into every game and I haven't changed that. I think that's the best team at the moment."

Another position that remains a bone of contention for some is at fullback. O'Sullivan has been unwavering in his loyalty to Girvan Dempsey, who has been criticised for lacking the flair and counter-attacking ability of Leicester's Geordan Murphy, who was dropped for the England game.

Dempsey, however, is a model of consistency for O'Sullivan.  Always in the right place, fielding every ball and inspiring confidence in the team's defence.

"I've always been a fan of Girvan I suppose, there is no secret in that. As a fullback he ticks all the boxes.  He's a very consistent player, whether he has the football or hasn't. He's a superb tackler. His positional sense is magnificent. One of the telling things about Girvan ... is that you rarely see him let a ball bounce.

"Going forward he takes a lot of stick about not being able to do X, Y or Z, but he's very consistent with the ball, he doesn't lose the ball and he runs good lines," added O'Sullivan. "A fullback is like a goalkeeper.  It's great when they are exciting but when they are too exciting, at times they can be worry."

In Reddan's case, the coach said he has benefited hugely from the move to Wasps and will be able to bring a little bit of tactical nous and smart passing off the bench, if needed.

"He's a very good passer of the ball, he's a very smart footballer.  I think he reads the game very well. With the type of game Wasps play he's a key player for them in terms of managing their pack, he keeps their pack going forward," noted O'Sullivan.  "The way he distributes, he passes, he kicks, he runs, he keeps changing the landscape for the defence. So, in that respect he's a very smart footballer."

Ireland Team:15 - Girvan Dempsey, 14 - Shane Horgan, 13 - Brian O'Driscoll (C), 12 - Gordon D'Arcy, 11 - Denis Hickie, 10 - Ronan O'Gara, 9 - Peter Stringer, 1 - Marcus Horan, 2 - Rory Best, 3 - John Hayes, 4 - Donncha O'Callaghan, 5 - Paul O'Connell, 6 - Simon Easterby, 7 - David Wallace, 8 - Denis Leamy

Replacements:16 - Jerry Flannery, 17 - Simon Best, 18 - Mick O'Driscoll, 19 - Neil Best, 20 - Eoin Reddan, 21 - Paddy Wallace, 22 - Andrew Trimble

Not Considered due to injury: Isaac Boss (shoulder), Malcolm O'Kelly (knee)