{"id":292099,"date":"2023-09-22T22:37:12","date_gmt":"2023-09-22T22:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/?p=292099"},"modified":"2023-09-22T22:37:12","modified_gmt":"2023-09-22T22:37:12","slug":"paul-oconnell-calls-on-big-game-mentality-ahead-of-south-africa-tie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/rugby-union\/paul-oconnell-calls-on-big-game-mentality-ahead-of-south-africa-tie\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul O&apos;Connell calls on big-game mentality ahead of South Africa tie"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Paul O&#8217;Connell calls on Ireland to use the big-game mentality from their New Zealand win and Six Nations triumph ahead of key clash with South Africa<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Ireland will take on the Springboks on the back of a 15-game winning streak<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>O&#8217;Connell referenced previous victories in a bid to motivate his side for the tie<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Mail Sport&#8217;s new WhatsApp Channel:\u00a0Get the breaking news and exclusives here<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ireland forwards coach Paul O\u2019Connell says his side must draw on the big-game experience which brought a historic series win in New Zealand and the Six Nations Grand Slam to defeat South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>Test rugby\u2019s top-ranked nation clash with the reigning champions on Saturday in a blockbuster match in Paris.<\/p>\n<p>Ireland go into the pivotal Pool B showdown on a 15-game winning streak, including turning over the All Blacks on enemy territory and a Dublin success over the Springboks.<\/p>\n<p>Andy Farrell\u2019s men are viewed as slight underdogs against the Springboks, but O\u2019Connell has backed the team to register another statement win.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s going to take a big performance,\u2019 said the former Ireland captain. \u2018South Africa present a big physical challenge and a real technical challenge.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/22\/20\/75742637-0-image-a-59_1695411528291.jpg\" height=\"442\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Ireland coach Paul O&#8217;Connell has called on Ireland to use their big-game experience in their match against South Africa<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/22\/21\/75743263-0-image-a-63_1695413226848.jpg\" height=\"438\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Ireland achieved a Six Nations Grand Slam this year and are on a 15-game winning streak<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/22\/20\/75742653-0-image-a-61_1695411580739.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>They have won both their matches at the World Cup so far but face their toughest test yet this weekend against the Springboks<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re a very smart side.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The players have got to bring everything they\u2019ve brought to the big occasions they\u2019ve been in in the last few years.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We\u2019ve had a Test series decider down in New Zealand, we\u2019ve had a Grand Slam decider, we\u2019ve had a tough autumn series against some very tricky opposition and the boys have always found a way and figured it out.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Ireland have the chance to qualify for the quarter-finals with a game to spare following bonus-point victories over Romania and Tonga.<\/p>\n<p>They have won 27 of their last 29 Test matches, a run stretching back to the 2021 Six Nations, with Farrell openly embracing adversity throughout his reign.<\/p>\n<p>A day after France captain Antoine Dupont suffered a facial fracture against Namibia, O\u2019Connell acknowledged Ireland will have to be adaptable and overcome setbacks in by far their biggest test of the tournament to date.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/22\/20\/75742639-0-image-a-62_1695411592183.jpg\" height=\"415\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>O&#8217;Connell acknowledged Ireland will have to be adaptable to beat South Africa in France<\/p>\n<p>He said: \u2018Nothing is ever straightforward. We were down in New Zealand (last summer), I remember I\u2019d meet Mack (Hansen), he\u2019d been down in the park training on his own because he had Covid. Some of the coaching staff had Covid.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We\u2019ve had all sorts of challenges thrown at us. It\u2019s a big strength of Andy\u2019s that he revels in it and enjoys it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There\u2019s going to be ups and downs during the World Cup and there will be ups and downs within the game. Players\u2019 experience and their willingness to embrace those challenges and those obstacles is what has gotten them to where they are at the moment.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There will be plenty of that tomorrow, there is no doubt about it.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12550929\/Paul-OConnell-Ireland-mentality-South-Africa.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paul O&#8217;Connell calls on Ireland to use the big-game mentality from their New Zealand win and Six Nations triumph ahead [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292098,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Paul O&amp;apos;Connell calls on big-game mentality ahead of South Africa tie - 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