Ireland 'in a good place' ahead of NZ tour - O'Sullivan

Eddie O'Sullivan says he hasn't lost confidence in Ireland's chances of success in New Zealand this summer, despite a poor end to the season for all four provinces.

Leinster's chances of a European and URC double were squashed in recent weeks after defeats to La Rochelle and the Bulls, while Ulster suffered a painful URC semi-final loss against the Stormers.

Munster's season also ended in brittle fashion a week earlier, while Connacht's failure to reach the play-offs meant they've been idle for several weeks.

Head coach Andy Farrell yesterday said he doesn't believe there will be any lingering frustrations among his squad, who gathered this week for a mini-camp, before flying out to New Zealand for their three-Test series next week.

And O'Sullivan says he has full faith in the players to turn over a new leaf in Irish camp, based on his own experiences as head coach between 2001 and 2008.

"I think they're in a good place," he said on this week's RTÉ Rugby podcast.

"When I was coaching Irish teams, they could leave the province behind them and draw a line. They put on a different hat.

"Fellas would be a bit down, I remember Munster coming in off some of those terrible defeats in Europe, but I always found players had this capacity to compartmentalise, and they pivot away; this is the next challenge, a green jersey rather than a red or blue jersey. I wouldn't be overly concerned about that.

"A change of scenery as well, a different country, a freshness about it."

However, the former Ireland boss believes Farrell will have to play a tricky balancing act with the fitness of the squad over the three-and-a-half week tour, in which time Ireland will play five matches.

And while the defeats for Leinster and Ulster mean Farrell now has an