jd26
12-10-2007, 05:31 PM
Contepomi pulls no punches on Eddie
The charge sheet against Eddie O'Sullivan's continuing tenure as Ireland coach is lengthening alarmingly.
Exclude the hot-heads, the cynics and those with vested interests. The measured words and frank statements offered by Leinster's Argentine fly half Felipe Contepomi in Paris yesterday invite a compelling indictment of Ireland's management at this World Cup.
Contepomi, who will play against South Africa in Sunday night's semi-final, concedes his bewilderment at Ireland's premature exit. But, in reasoned tones, Leinster's playmaker out-lines some key areas where he believes the Irish management palpably failed in their preparations and also their lack of accountability for what went wrong.
"Ireland could have been in our situation now," he says. "And even now, if you put Ireland player by player alongside our side, they have a better team than us.
"After Ireland lost to France, I heard Eddie O'Sullivan talking bad about the referee and then he said Argentina played very bad rugby, it is hard to play against them. But Ireland never spoke about their deficits.
"In Argentina in the past, we used to say all the time, we could have won. There is no point saying that. You have to make results happen. Unfortunately for Irish rugby, this was their golden generation."
Argentina were eliminated before the knock-out stages in the previous World Cup in Australia but a full and frank assessment of where they went wrong has put them within one game of a World Cup final, something that would have been unthinkable four years ago.
"After our elimination in 2003, the senior players sat down with the coach and made a really harsh critique of what had gone wrong and everyone's roles," admitted Contepomi. "Will Ireland now do that with their senior players? Yet it is not all the players' fault.
"Were the players motivated? You would have to ask them. It is deeper than just a question of if they should kick or pass the ball. Management is exactly what it is called -- you have to manage the players properly."
It was only a last-minute try at Croke Park that prevented Ireland from going into the World Cup as Six Nations Grand Slam holders but the Argentina player also offered a brutal assessment of O'Sullivan's achievements in recent years.
"They won three Triple Crowns but you have to say, in that time, Wales had one of the worst Welsh teams for the past 30 years, a single season excepted.
"Scotland floundered until this World Cup and this English team, until the World Cup, was the worst for 30 years. Even we beat them at Twickenham.
"Ireland should be aiming for Grand Slams, not Triple Crowns. If this was the golden era, you should have expected a bit more than that. Sometimes you have to be harsh on yourself to go forward."
Should O'Sullivan be fired for overseeing such failure on Ireland's part? Contepomi looks at the fate of the other coaches who failed to live up to pre-tournament goals. "If you come to those situations where you have to analyse why a squad failed, you have to say that with most of the other nations that didn't reach their goals, the coach was out.
"Australia will have a new coach, Wales sacked their coach the same evening they failed to qualify for the quarter finals, New Zealand have said they will have a new coach by Christmas. I am sure Ireland has a lot of people capable of doing a lot with that team."
Ireland came to this World Cup with many of their players having not played much for the last six months whereas the English and French players played most of the year with the French championship not finishing until June 9. Bernard Laporte's side had only three weeks off before launching into serious World Cup preparation but Contepomi points to his Leinster team-mate Brian O'Driscoll as the prime example of Ireland's poor preparation.
"Brian O'Driscoll was injured in March and wasn't allowed to play until August," observed Contepomi. "Then in his second game back against Bayonne, he was injured. Then you go to a World Cup and are expected to be at your best.
"And there were others very similar. What about David Wallace? I was definitely surprised to see these things. And I was even more surprised that Ireland went out so soon."
Contepomi won't discuss if he has talked with anyone in the Irish camp since O'Sullivan's men tumbled ignominiously out of the tournament on the back of that 30-15 defeat by the Pumas but his analysis, as one who has played with and against so many in the Irish camp, certainly deserves respect.
"If you see the quality of the players, it was the best team they have ever had. So now questions have to be asked."
The charge sheet against Eddie O'Sullivan's continuing tenure as Ireland coach is lengthening alarmingly.
Exclude the hot-heads, the cynics and those with vested interests. The measured words and frank statements offered by Leinster's Argentine fly half Felipe Contepomi in Paris yesterday invite a compelling indictment of Ireland's management at this World Cup.
Contepomi, who will play against South Africa in Sunday night's semi-final, concedes his bewilderment at Ireland's premature exit. But, in reasoned tones, Leinster's playmaker out-lines some key areas where he believes the Irish management palpably failed in their preparations and also their lack of accountability for what went wrong.
"Ireland could have been in our situation now," he says. "And even now, if you put Ireland player by player alongside our side, they have a better team than us.
"After Ireland lost to France, I heard Eddie O'Sullivan talking bad about the referee and then he said Argentina played very bad rugby, it is hard to play against them. But Ireland never spoke about their deficits.
"In Argentina in the past, we used to say all the time, we could have won. There is no point saying that. You have to make results happen. Unfortunately for Irish rugby, this was their golden generation."
Argentina were eliminated before the knock-out stages in the previous World Cup in Australia but a full and frank assessment of where they went wrong has put them within one game of a World Cup final, something that would have been unthinkable four years ago.
"After our elimination in 2003, the senior players sat down with the coach and made a really harsh critique of what had gone wrong and everyone's roles," admitted Contepomi. "Will Ireland now do that with their senior players? Yet it is not all the players' fault.
"Were the players motivated? You would have to ask them. It is deeper than just a question of if they should kick or pass the ball. Management is exactly what it is called -- you have to manage the players properly."
It was only a last-minute try at Croke Park that prevented Ireland from going into the World Cup as Six Nations Grand Slam holders but the Argentina player also offered a brutal assessment of O'Sullivan's achievements in recent years.
"They won three Triple Crowns but you have to say, in that time, Wales had one of the worst Welsh teams for the past 30 years, a single season excepted.
"Scotland floundered until this World Cup and this English team, until the World Cup, was the worst for 30 years. Even we beat them at Twickenham.
"Ireland should be aiming for Grand Slams, not Triple Crowns. If this was the golden era, you should have expected a bit more than that. Sometimes you have to be harsh on yourself to go forward."
Should O'Sullivan be fired for overseeing such failure on Ireland's part? Contepomi looks at the fate of the other coaches who failed to live up to pre-tournament goals. "If you come to those situations where you have to analyse why a squad failed, you have to say that with most of the other nations that didn't reach their goals, the coach was out.
"Australia will have a new coach, Wales sacked their coach the same evening they failed to qualify for the quarter finals, New Zealand have said they will have a new coach by Christmas. I am sure Ireland has a lot of people capable of doing a lot with that team."
Ireland came to this World Cup with many of their players having not played much for the last six months whereas the English and French players played most of the year with the French championship not finishing until June 9. Bernard Laporte's side had only three weeks off before launching into serious World Cup preparation but Contepomi points to his Leinster team-mate Brian O'Driscoll as the prime example of Ireland's poor preparation.
"Brian O'Driscoll was injured in March and wasn't allowed to play until August," observed Contepomi. "Then in his second game back against Bayonne, he was injured. Then you go to a World Cup and are expected to be at your best.
"And there were others very similar. What about David Wallace? I was definitely surprised to see these things. And I was even more surprised that Ireland went out so soon."
Contepomi won't discuss if he has talked with anyone in the Irish camp since O'Sullivan's men tumbled ignominiously out of the tournament on the back of that 30-15 defeat by the Pumas but his analysis, as one who has played with and against so many in the Irish camp, certainly deserves respect.
"If you see the quality of the players, it was the best team they have ever had. So now questions have to be asked."