John O'Sullivan listens to the Irish captain's views on the citing, a lethargic performance and France

Brian O'Driscoll left the sackcloth and ashes in the wardrobe; instead choosing normal rugby attire to attend yesterday's press conference. The Ireland captain had been cleared of a citing arising out of last weekend's victory over Italy, freed to lead his country at the Stade de France on Saturday.

It would be wrong to suggest that there wasn't a tiny uncertainty. However, he knew he was innocent. "Having reviewed it (the incident) on the video footage I thought that it was perfectly legal and the right course of action was taken by the citing commissioner. It was all within the rules of the game. I don't think there was any foul play, none intended. I was trying to get the man off the ball as the referee was indicating a penalty. He was wrongfully there. It speaks for itself, the way that it (the review) has worked out."

There followed a discussion on the aesthetics of rucking with O'Driscoll confirming that the recent citing won't impinge upon his instinct to legitimately remove a body from the ball should the situation arise again in Paris. He wouldn't expect any favours if he was the player depriving a team of quick ball. He explained: "I found myself there at times and I think sometimes people can take that option in wanting to give away penalties because they are in trouble elsewhere.

"You sometimes have to take a bit of punishment and not roll off. It's part of the game, nearly a little bit of gamesmanship to concede three rather than five or seven (points) is what happens. If you find yourself on that wrong side and not moving and part of what you expect to happen is to get rucked out of it."

When asked to address Ireland's shortcomings in the November Test series followed by an unconvincing display in beating Italy, O'Driscoll dwelled on the latter game having missed the pre-Christmas fare. He went through a checklist of indicators - good training sessions, positive mood - but was unable to provide the definitive reason for the ensuing flatness on the day.

In the run-up to the Six Nations O'Driscoll has spoken of the need to concentrate on performance levels and that results would follow. It's a process he believes the team must adhere to if they're to improve. Not that the French will exactly be chipper after their defeat by Scotland.

O'Driscoll suggested: "They (the French) made a huge amount of unforced errors and they never really played themselves into the game. I know French sides in the past have been accused of travelling badly but one thing's for certain: they play well at home, with the exception of one or two blips like the second half of the Welsh game last year.

"They are always a different side when you play them in Paris and you would take more on board (regarding) what they did last November than what they did last weekend. There's pressure on the French team, there's pressure on Bernard Laporte. When your back is against the wall you have a tendency to improve your performance. I have been in that position myself. You tend to dig a bit deeper when asked."

The French have several injury concerns but O'Driscoll didn't shed any crocodile tears about the absence of centre Yannick Jauzion. "It's always a positive when you're meeting a French side without Yannick as he is a world-class player. He's been the guy that has pulled the strings for them over the last year. He's shown this season that he's possibly the best back in the world and he's been hugely influential. He's been a big player."

He did go on to point out that Damien Traille, restored to the French squad following injury is a pretty decent replacement on form.

Inevitably O'Driscoll was asked to cast his mind back to his hat-trick of tries in 2000 which he dismissed modestly as a "good day at the office. (They're) good memories but (now) six years ago, back in the archives, consigned to the history books."