Ireland captain Brian ODriscoll is still suffering from his hamstring tear and OSullivan is prepared to give the centre as much time as possible to recover.

The coach will make a late decision on whether to select him for the Valentines Day clash in Paris.

We always knew that Brians case was going to go down to the wire, said OSullivan.

Im not trying to say hes going to be fit when he isnt, we really dont know.

I want him to play in Paris because he is a class player and the skipper of the team. But if he aggravated the injury because weve brought him back too early then it will be a mistake on my part.

We want to give him every opportunity to play in Paris but we wont take risks.

The decision will be made in the middle of next week at the earliest and Im happy to leave it that late.