Paul O’Connell says Ireland will not need to use the emotion of upcoming retirements as motivation when they face Six Nations title rivals France on 8 March (14:15 GMT).
The highly-anticipated Aviva Stadium encounter will double as a top-two showdown and Dublin farewell for Irish greats Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray and Cian Healy, who will retire from Test rugby at the end of the tournament.
But victory over Les Bleus will put Ireland in the driving seat with one game left and O’Connell says the squad can be trusted to focus on the job at hand.
“Boys don’t rely on emotion massively,” said the forwards coach, who played with the trio for Ireland as well as O’Mahony and Murray at Munster.
“It’s the icing on the cake rather than the whole cake these days. I don’t think we’ll be using it for emotion or to help us win the game. It’s more about marking their contribution.
“It hasn’t always been easy for them. They’ve had to keep coming back and keep fighting for their place. Pete has been in and out in the last few years, same with Conor Murray, Cian has had to reinvent himself and figure out a way to stay part of the group.”
O’Connell, who won the 2014 and 2015 Six Nations titles alongside the retiring trio, added: “As I said, how much they enjoy it adds to the whole enjoyment for all the players and coaches.
“They’ve had to work really hard so it’s about marking their contribution rather than using it as any motivation for us.
“I just don’t think we need it for this weekend, we’re good when we know how important it is and how serious the occasion is, but we’re good when we’re nice and clear as well and calm under pressure.”
