RUGBY: Ireland v USA: It is a curious billing: the giants of Ireland against the minnows of America. There can only be one winner at Lansdowne Road today, which leaves Ireland in something of a no-win position - if that doesn't all sound too Irish.
The more comfortably they win, the more likely it is to be scoffed at. The harder the win is to come by, the more likely they are to be criticised.
Throw in the comparative lack of White-hot hype of last week, the mere sight of the Tri-Nations champions, the accompanying whiff of vengeance, today's relatively reduced sense of occasion for a 1.00 kick-off at a half-full Lansdowne Road, and it is classically set up for something of an anti-climax.
"It is a no-win situation in the sense that if we don't win, there'll be hell to pay," agreed O'Sullivan, "and if we do win people will say 'well, what did you expect?' For me that's the best definition of a no-win situation.
"But that doesn't mean we can't go out and acquit ourselves professionally and produce the best possible performance we can with the team we have on the field, and I re-emphasise the fact that we have got a very good team on the field," said O'Sullivan, highlighting the blend of established team members, those on the fringe and a couple of seriously promising debutants in Tommy Bowe and Denis Leamy.
"That's a nice mix and there's no reason why they can't go out and produce as good a performance as they possibly can in the conditions."
O'Sullivan talked up the opposition as best he could, and as a former Eagles' coach himself up until five years ago, he is speaking from a position of some knowledge. The strains of the Star Spangled Banner might provoke tremors of fear in many other contexts, but in a rugby sense, hardly. That said, as O'Sullivan observed and knows only too well, there'll be no more emotionally fired-up and partisan bunch of rugby players come kick-off than the Eagles.
Viewed on their credible World Cup performances and on their last outing, a 39-31 defeat to France in Connecticut last June - and a dozen of that Eagles side has been retained - the USA could be tough opponents. They have some quality players, most notably in dynamic captain Kurt Schubert and prolific Sale outhalf Mike Hercus, as well as the Italy-based duo of centre Paul Emerick and lock Gerhard Klerck.
The USA may or may not be better than Canada, but the Canucks' difficulties in Italy and England over the last fortnight are relevant in one context, namely that apart from the Eagles' quartet of professionals, the remainder of their squad are amateurs and have been out of season ever since the French encounter, the fifth game of a relatively busy schedule.
By comparison, aside from the gulf in class and Test-match savvy, Ireland's players have had a 10-week pre-season and are match-hardened. For all of this to come into effect, Ireland will have to be ruthless, and not give the Eagles any chance to settle. Given any early encouragement, the Eagles will be an altogether tougher proposition. One imagines they'll have pretty effective set-pieces, and even as other 'minnows' such as Russia have shown, they can hold the ball for a while.
Ireland's defence, unbreachable last week in one of its finest hours, will need to step up in front of the gain line and discourage the Americans as much as possible. But one also presumes that the more Ireland take them through the phases, not to mention broken play or counter-attacks, the more the USA will struggle to cope.
Eight of this side, and all bar one of the backs, played in tandem in near identical circumstances against Fiji two years ago, which also aren't dissimilar to the World Cup warm-up game against Italy last year. Brian O'Driscoll, David Humphreys, and the Easterbys provide a further common thread with those games and today's, and the Easterbys, along with Eric Miller and Geordan Murphy, also started that 83-3 rout of the Eagles in the summer of 2000, when Guy Easterby and Murphy each garnished their test debuts with a brace of tries.
Scorelines mightn't necessarily be a true barometer of the degree of comfort, and Ireland took nearly all of a dreary first-half to subdue the Italians, but the 64-17 and 61-6 wins were jobs carried out professionally and with flair. Conditions - the forecast is for an overcast, showery day - will be a factor too, but a similarly commanding performance seems well within Ireland's compass.
Previous meetings: 1994 - Ireland 26, USA 15; 1996 (Atlanta) - USA 18, Ireland 25; 1999 (WC) - Ireland 53, USA 8; 2000 (Manchester NH) - USA 3, Ireland 83.
Leading try scorers: Ireland - Brian O'Driscoll 25 tries, Denis Hickie 23 tries. USA - Vaea Anitoni 26 tries.
Leading points scorers: Ireland - David Humphreys 491pts, Ronan O'Gara 444pts. USA - Mike Hercus 269 pts.
Odds (Paddy Powers): Handicap betting = USA + 45pts - 10/11 Ireland, 16/1 Draw, 10/11 USA.
Forecast: Ireland to beat the handicap.
