Abkhazia Institute for Social and Economic Research

Asked if the pride of the Irish pack was hurting after being rumbled by the Georgian eight on Saturday night at the Stade Chaban-Delmas, O'Donovan - like the good number 8 he once was - refused to budge an inch.

''I don't accept that at all. If Georgia had scored in the last 10 minutes (when they repeatedly attacked the Irish line) then you could make a point of saying our pride would have been hurt,'' he said.

''But it was a huge plus for us that we held out without conceding a score and a lesser pack might have given up in such circumstances.

''It is very difficult when a team has eight players round the ball, as they did in those closing minutes, and the fact that we held on will benefit us enormously going into the game with France,'' the former Munster forward said.

Pride on the line

Ireland defence coach Graham Steadman was equally effusive in his praise for the efforts of the pack in keeping the Georgians at bay.

''We showed great resolve. We defended well and were very composed. We showed a lot of pride and that will stand us in good stead on Friday,'' he said.

''Obviously it will be a completely different challenge against France, but I believe we're more than capable of closing them down.''

After the below-par performances against Namibia and Georgia, and all the talk of ''crisis'' emanating from the camp in recent days, Ireland's spirits were anything but down as they departed Bordeaux on Wednesday for the three-hour journey to Paris.

''The build up to the game (against France) seems to have been going for weeks, ever since the draw was made,'' said O'Donovan.

''The game is only days away and you can already see it in the body language of the guys. We always knew we were going to have to beat France and Argentina.''

Plenty of petrol left in the tank

O'Donovan accepted that if Ireland were to repeat the same mistakes they made against Namibia and Georgia, when they conceded 39 and 36 turnovers respectively, their IRB Rugby World Cup dream would end in Paris.

''We've got to stop giving away soft scores and we need to be a bit smarter at the start of the game. If we give the ball away cheaply against France we're gone.

''But we also know that if we can hold on to the ball and eliminate our mistakes, we have all the capabilities to win.''

Steadman was content to go one better: ''If the guys can repeat the way they've been training this week, then there could definitely be a surprise on the cards on Friday night.''