Paul O'Connell says Ireland must stir their emotions if they are to stand any chance of beating Australia.
Lions skipper says Ireland need to deliver an inspired performance
Paul O'Connell says Ireland must stir their emotions if they are to stand any chance of beating Australia in Saturday's critical World Cup showdown at Eden Park.
The stakes are high for Pool C's most eagerly-awaited encounter between the Wallabies, who are the tournament's youngest squad, and Declan Kidney's side, who are its oldest.
The winners will find themselves within sight of the quarter-finals but Tri-Nations champions Australia start as heavy favourites - the rivals' contrasting recent records pointing to a comfortable Wallaby win.
Offering an honest appraisal of Ireland's form, O'Connell accepts that expectations the World Cup's second favourites will be humbled in Auckland this week are low.
But the Lions captain is convinced his team is capable of taming the Wallabies - if they approach the match with the right mentality.
"There's no denying Australia are the form side compared to us. For us to win the game we will need a massive performance," he said.
"Any motivation we can get we'll use. There's no doubt Irish teams are better when their emotion and passion are high.
"Hopefully that will be there in abundance against Australia. On form they're a long way ahead of us at the moment.
"We've failed to produce our best in the last five games and there's no doubt we're the underdogs.
"We're used to that and we can't have any qualms about it.
"We've failed to produce the goods for five games in a row now, but hopefully it happens on Saturday.
"I look at the quality of the players and experience we have and I think absolutely there's a big performance in us.
"We've been playing way under our potential."
Brutal
Irish hopes are pinned on their ability to reproduce the sort of inspired performance that denied England the Grand Slam in March.
It was a brutal display that was close to perfection, but O'Connell concedes it has proved a one-off in a year plagued by inconsistency.
"Similarly to now when we haven't performed to our ability for the last five games, week after week we failed to reach our potential in the Six Nations," he said.
"We played for 20 minutes here and there, 30 minutes here and there. We showed only flashes of what we can do.
"We're failing to produce it for 80 minutes but against England we managed that.
"When we can do that, which is what good teams do, we are an excellent side that can compete with anyone.
"That's what we must do against Australia - be an 80-minute team."
Ireland have fielded their strongest possible 22 to meet the Australians.
Full-back Rob Kearney, prop Cian Healy and flanker Sean O'Brien have returned from injury lay-offs, while the more experienced Eoin Reddan has been preferred ahead of Conor Murray.
The key figure is powerhouse European player of the year O'Brien, the team's outstanding performer since the start of the Six Nations.
Selected at seven after David Wallace was ruled out of the World Cup with a knee injury, he must attempt to make an impression on brilliant Wallaby openside David Pocock.
If Ireland revisit their heroics against England, they will be able to match Australia blow for blow.
Big occasion
It is an enormous occasion for many members of the squad, with the likes of the ageing O'Connell, Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy unlikely to feature in many more big matches.
"It's a massive game for Ireland. It has monumental importance in the pool and will be a really tough game," said O'Connell, who turns 32 next month.
"Australia are playing some great rugby at them moment.
"They played cleverly against Italy on the weekend. They were patient and broke them down.
"When they got their opportunities they took them very well."
Many of Ireland's big names have been less-than convincing during the build up to the World Cup and little changed in last Sunday's opener, despite their win against the United States.
D'Arcy and O'Driscoll, both finding their way back from injury, need big performances, as does Jamie Heaslip who has fallen short of the world class form he displayed last autumn.
Jonathan Sexton, retained at fly-half ahead of Ronan O'Gara, also needs to produce after failing to impress against the USA.
