Ireland performance in Georgia 'won't be perfect'

BBC News

03-07-2025

Interim head coach Paul O'Connell says a youthful Ireland's performance in Georgia on Saturday "won't be perfect".O'Connell has handed debuts to second row Darragh Murray and wing Tommy O'Brien, while four more players could make their first Ireland appearance off the bench. Ireland are without the 16 players who are in Australia with the British and Irish Lions, and captain Caelan Doris and Robbie Henshaw are missing through injury.While former Ireland lock O'Connell says preparations have "been good", he says learning from mistakes will be part of the process in Tbilisi."We're aware of that even when we play with the most experienced internationals," O'Connell said."We're trying to make the players aware of that as well is really important and we just have to crack on."Jacob Stockdale is the most-capped player with 39 caps, while Stuart McCloskey is the only player over the age of 30. Eleven of the starting 15 have fewer than 10 caps, something that also applies to all but one of the replacements, and O'Connell admits there will likely be some nerves in his players."That's part of it, you almost have to experience that to learn how to figure it out," he said."That's why we wanted them in that two-week prep window as that's what international rugby is all about. "They experience how to come in and learn quickly and how to get aligned quickly."Ultimately until you are in the middle of it and you make a mistake, it's only by getting on the field and experiencing it that you really learn."O'Connell added that facing Georgia, who defeated Japan and Tonga last year and narrowly lost to Italy, will be a "real challenge" for his players. "It's not a Test match of small significance, it's a match where they have to perform."They are going to learn a lot, we are going to learn a lot."