Ireland touched down in New Zealand on Thursday after completing an epic 43-hour journey that began in Dublin and featured stops in Dubai and Sydney before concluding in Queenstown.
The Irish squad opens World Cup 2011 play with a match against the United States on September 11th.
More than 500 supporters gathered at Queenstown airport to greet the squad, who will be based in one of the country's most spectacular locations for the first week of the World Cup.
The team is training against a backdrop of snow-covered mountains and O'Driscoll admits the location has been well received.
"It feels like the World Cup has really started now. Once you get on that plane the realization sinks in a bit," he said. "We're finally here after all the work we've done in the build-up.
"It's great to be here. It's certainly one of the more beautiful spots to be in. Hopefully we'll get some good work done over the next week to put ourselves in good shape for the matches."
Go Men In Green! But I must confess to a soft spot for the Wallabies, especially David Pocock!
ReplyDeleteI've missed you, my friend! Hope that you've been okay!