Paul O'Connell: Ireland won't be distracted by mind games

The irony was lost on nobody yesterday as the Paul O'Connell sat down for a Test week media session in a large exam hall.

The Irish squad have been hosted at St Peter's College in Sandton, just north of Johannesburg, since they arrived in South Africa last week, and their first big press conference of the week came in the school gymnasium, which is already laid out in anticipation of next week's exams.

The sight of hundreds of school desks and chairs laid out single file on a basketball court was actually quite triggering, an instant dose of exam anxiety for anyone who stepped into the room. It was also a less than subtle reminder about the test facing Ireland in Pretoria this Saturday.

O'Connell seemed more tense than usual when he sat down to speak to the media, straight off the training pitch. The forwards coach is probably the best of the Irish coaches when on top-table duties, and rarely skips on the detail when answering a question, but his first couple of answers were noticeably abrupt. He warmed up as he got into the weeds of the challenge facing Ireland this Saturday.

There's a similar feeling around this Ireland team to their Six Nations opener against France in January, when there were real fears of a post-World Cup and post-Johnny Sexton hangover. In the end, they surprised everyone and blew the French apart in Marseille.

The final weeks of the season have clouded Ireland's preparations for this series, with Leinster's Champions Cup final defeat followed by a semi-final URC exit, while Munster similarly lost in the last four.

And O'Connell laughed to himself when asked if he felt Ireland were ready to hit the ground running in Pretoria just as they did in Marseille.

"I find my sense for that is off," he said. "When