Injury victim Jerry Flannery insists that the Irish squad have always had a strong belief in their ability, even when things weren’t going their way last month.
The Munster hooker was forced to depart New Zealand a fortnight ago after suffering a recurrence of a calf problem that has dogged him for nearly two years and is currently exploring every avenue possible in an attempt to make a comeback in the near future.
Flannery trained all summer with the Irish camp and travelled to New Zealand with the squad and he maintains that the disastrous warm-up games didn’t shake the faith that the players and management have in their ability to make an impact.
Flannery feels that Ireland will prevail by 12 points against Italy this weekend and his assessment was backed up by fellow guests at the latest Guinness Area 22 event in Cork City which included former provincial colleagues John Kelly, Ian Dowling and Paul Wallace.
Check out the video above to hear the lads’ thoughts on what is a crucial encounter for Declan Kidney’s side.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
