The Triple Crown holders have been widely tipped to win their first championship for 20 years thanks to their talent-packed squad, a kind fixture list and the raft of injuries suffered by England and France.

It is an unusual position for Ireland to find themselves in but OSullivan has challenged his side to go one better than the second place finishes they have enjoyed for three out of the last four years.

Being considered favourites is a new place for us to be. There is an element of pressure with that but we have to live with the favourites tag, he said.

We cant keep going around saying were underdogs because whether we like it or not, weve earnt the tag of favourites on the back of our performances.

If we want to go to the next level as a team we have to learn to cope with being considered the best.

But a lot of the current squad has been successful at junior and provincial level so there isnt that fear of expectation, which is a good thing.