SIX NATIONS IRELAND v ITALY(Tomorrow 1.30pm) The winger expresses his disappointment at the lack of intensity against Wales, and the need to up the ante at the Aviva. JOHN O'SULLIVANreports
ANDREW TRIMBLE is being asked to articulate how frustrating the frustration is, how despairing the desperation in pinpointing the mental state of the Ireland players ahead of tomorrow’s Six Nations Championship match against Italy at the Aviva stadium.
Disappointment naturally follows a defeat but it was flaws in the Irish performance against Wales that grated more. France had offered an opportunity for redemption, only for it to be whipped away at the 11th hour.
The game against Italy can’t come quickly enough for the match-day squad but pent-up emotions must be harnessed on a bridle of discipline. Trimble admitted: “The frustration has sort of developed a little bit over the last couple of weeks and that’s been difficult to deal with.
“Hopefully it’ll be a positive thing to have that building and building, that it will create a bit of buzz and desperation in the squad to take our chance to put it right this weekend.”
The in-form Ulster and Ireland wing qualifies his use of the term desperation, preferring “intensity” when he tries to identify what was lacking against Wales.
“That’s a quality Wales side we played and we played poorly against them. Our physicality, intensity and our quickness, the way we reacted to things, just wasn’t quite there. Despite that all happening we still should have won the game, so I don’t think there’s problem with our confidence.
“We’ll look at that match as a game where we played badly and should have won. If we can raise our level of performance to where it should be, and where it’s been in the past, then I think the sort of teams we are playing in the Six Nations won’t be able to deal with us.”
The template, performance- wise, which Trimble holds up to the light, is the victory against England in last season’s Six Nations Championship. He brandishes it a couple of times to illustrate the levels that must be attained to guarantee success.
“I know from playing against Wales that something just wasn’t there and it’s really important that whatever that is, we have it this weekend. That intensity should be there no matter what. When you play England, it just happens naturally. When you play Italy, or to be honest, whenever you pull on a green shirt, it just should be there naturally. It was there when we played Italy in the World Cup, so hopefully it will be there this weekend.”
When it is ventured that one thing absent is Brian O’Driscoll, Trimble turns to the questioner and smiles: “That’s the headline, is it? Brian’s a loss, of course he is. Everyone knows what Brian brings to the team; his leadership, through what he says and what he does. He has a massive impact on our game. At the same time, Earlsy [Keith Earls] is an outstanding player. He’s serious quality.
“I am looking forward to playing alongside Earlsy. I don’t think you can put it down to one player, that intensity that was lacking. I think it is a mindset of 15 people to get on a pitch and just going absolutely ballistic for 80 minutes, leaving everything on the pitch.”
Trimble has been in excellent form for some time: “Whenever I get on the pitch I just try to enjoy every minute. I feel confident with the ball, feel powerful and I feel like when I take people on I’m likely to beat them and it’s very difficult to get that unless you’ve been performing well earlier in the season.
“I’ve been enjoying my rugby with Ulster and Ireland and I just really want to take these opportunities when they come along as you might not get that many of them.”
Trimble brings a strong running, abrasive ball-carrying dynamic to the backline and is also very physical in the tackle.
If there is one criticism it’s how he is used or, perhaps more pointedly, underused. He’ll provide an impact but it might just occasionally be less conventional.
