Sean O’Brien says Ireland must stop Mathieu Bastareaud to beat France

• ‘You’ve got to take his space away, he’s an intelligent rugby player’• Ireland coaches and players targeting improvement in order to beat FranceIreland must shut down powerhouse Mathieu Bastareaud to beat France and avoid New Zealand in the World Cup quarter-finals, according to Sean O’Brien.The Toulon centre Bastareaud will attempt to terrorise Ireland’s defence in Sunday’s Pool D decider in Cardiff, with flanker O’Brien accepting Joe Schmidt’s men must deny the 27-year-old any room to run. Continue reading...