In his first interview since resigning as Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan today admitted he "got the World Cup badly wrong" but is proud of the three Triple Crowns and style of rugby he introduced during his time with Ireland.

O'Sullivan spoke openly about his time as Ireland coach on today's Eamon Dunphy Show on Rte Radio 1, including the highs and lows of his tenure and how he still finds it difficult since stepping down.

Of his team's performance at last year's World Cup in France, when hopes and aspirations of success for an Irish side had never been greater, O'Sullivan says he got the tactics wrong.

"We were undercooked," the Corkman told Rte. "We got it wrong, got the World Cup badly wrong. We had the players and we had a good team. Basically I would put my hands up and say I timed it wrong."

Before the World Cup there had been much debate surrounding the IRFU's decision to award O'Sullivan a new four-year contract on the eve of the tournament, but the coach doesn't believe that had any bearing on the performances.

"I don't think that affected anything. I think the media made a lot of it. Actually the same happened in 2003. Literally two months before the world cup 2003, I signed a new contract and it went pretty much under the radar then. But I suppose the thought of having me around for another four years probably scared a lot of people."

O'Sullivan continued to rail against the media saying the "drip-feeding" rumours about trouble within the squad didn't help. He said it was without foundation and "took its toll on the camp".

Looking objectively at O'Sullivan's record and he possesses the highest win ratio of any Ireland coach, including three Triple Crowns. But most of all he is proud of the style of rugby he introduced to the Ireland camp.

"I would like to think as a coach I changed the way Ireland played the game," he said. "Ireland was traditionally a team that was conservative, we kicked the ball up in the air; we did invent the Garryowen at the end of the day.

"I like to think in the years I was involved in Ireland, we became a run-and-gun team, we played teams like Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and took them on."

Only time will tell how O'Sullivan is judged, but either way, the disappointment of such a poor World Cup followed by another below par Six Nations campaign still lingers.

O'Sullivan has no regrets about his decision to stand down, though he does miss the buzz of being involved in top level rugby.

"It's a mixed emotion...It was the right thing to do, so once I made the decision, I felt peace and ease about it," he said. "I've no regrets about it and I wouldn't change it now. But I remember the second week, sitting in my office, opening my laptop and saying, 'what on earth am I going to do now?' It really hit me." 
 
O'Sullivan clearly finds life at a slower pace takes some getting used to. "People say, 'ah, go and play golf', but it doesn't mean anything. If you get a birdie in the fifth, who cares? So that's a difficult part of it. All I've got to do is just to sit tight for a while and hopefully in a couple of months a job will come along."