Rugby: Brian O'Driscoll today returned fire on Ireland's critics by blaming pundits for whipping up the negativity that cloaks the team. Discipline has dominated discussion of Ireland's performances during the Six Nations with an average of just over 12 penalties conceded in each of their three matches.

Concerns over ebbing confidence levels and a high error count have also dogged a side that retains a mathematical chance of winning the championship. The aftermath of their last outing, a roller-coaster 21-18 victory over Scotland at Murrayfield, saw a handful of unflattering comments posted on Twitter accounts belonging to members of the team, provoking an angry response from the players in question.

O’Driscoll insists Ireland are not being given enough credit for what they have achieved as they head to Cardiff for Saturday’s clash with Wales.

“The negativity filters down from punditry to people reading papers and the general public,” said the captain. “There’s a percentage of people who have a very good understanding of the game. Then there’s a large portion of people who know what’s going on in the game but rely on what’s said to base their opinions around.

“The negativity comes from the regurgitation of those opinions. If people are dwelling on the negative then that will be the over-riding feeling and mentality of people. That’s been a little misplaced over the last few games. There’s been plenty of good things to speak about but they’ve been shelved away.

“It’s been non-stop talk about the discipline. Of course it’s an issue, but it’s a fixable issue. The mindset going into the Wales game isn’t frustration, we’re looking forward to it. I really don’t see it as though we’re in as bad a position as the negativity surrounding the team suggests.

“Some of it has been justified, but it has also clouded over the tries we’ve created and the number of tries we’ve scored. There hasn’t been much reference to that. I’m the eternal optimist and I’d rather dwell on the positives we can take out of games. What’s the point in dwelling on the negatives?

“If we can outscore teams three tries to zero, there’s a small fix in getting the discipline right and that excites me.”