Ireland V France (30-21) 7th February 2009
Thrilling victory In Croke Park

A great win for Ireland, what was the plan going into the game?
We were very aware that we had to take them on physically from the start. We knew from experience that they would want to keep the play as loose as possible, we just planned to hold onto the ball as much as possible, keep putting phases on them and look for the gaps in their defence. The game went according to plan some of our kicking was a bit loose, we had a pre-determined kicking strategy but some of it was a little inaccurate.

The game got close at times, were you conscious of previous meetings before the game?
Two years ago we learned our lesson against France. The game was going well but they are a dangerous side, they can score at any time from open play, they don’t have to be piling on pressure to get a score. We were doing well and in the 75th minute we conceded a try and lost the match. We talked a lot about it before the game and everyone was committed to playing out the full 80mins and staying focused on getting a result.

The team seems to have really gelled now, everyone seemed to know what was expected of them?
We didn’t have much time together before the Autumn internationals it was difficult to develop a game plan that everyone was comfortable with. The Christmas camp allowed us time to nail down the gameplan and get everyone thinking in the same mindset. We had that at the weekend and then getting the win builds the team confidence and spirit. We got the result and put in a good performance, the things that we worked on in training over the last few months worked on the field and that also builds confidence for the team.

What happened you that you were subbed are you badly injured?
I made two tackles in quick succession, I jerked my neck badly after tackling Jauzion. At half time I could feel my neck stiffening up the medics gave me some anti-inflamatorys but I was still carrying the injury in the 2nd half. As the second half continued I could feel my neck stiffening up more, I didn’t want to let the lads down by missing a tackle so it was better for the team that I came off. I should be fine rest and physio should sort it out.

The set pieces went very well?
Yes I was happy with both the scrum and the lineout. We put in a lot of scrum practice we knew they felt they had something to prove after we were awarded a pentalty try against them last year. We have become technically better at the set pieces and I was happy with how they went.

What’s the feeling in the camp now?
Everyone is really happy at the moment great to get a win under our belts. The first match in the series always has an air of unpredictability about it, so we will take all the positives out of it and use that to build on. We are looking forward to Italy but are just taking the championship one game at a time. There is a long way to go yet.

Jerry Flannery in conversation with USN