WAYNE SMITH QUOTES:

- ON A FULLY FIT BRIAN O'DRISCOLL -

"(Brian) O'Driscoll is world class. Looking at their recent games I think he has developed his defensive game immensely. He is like another loose forward in defence.

"New Zealanders are in for a treat. He's one of the (more) special players there has ever been probably. It's a challenge for our boys - we've got Casey (Laulala) and Ma'a (Nonu) in this team. I think they/ve both had pretty good Super 14s, they're good young men and I'm sure they'll rise to the challenge.

"But it is a big challenge for them."

- ON THE CHALLENGE POSED BY IRELAND -

"We think Ireland will be really strong for the two Tests.

"We think they'll be better than the Lions last year - they'll be more unified. They won the Triple Crown, Munster have just won the Heineken Cup which is helluva difficult. It's a big competition for them.

"They have two of their key players back - their leaders O'Driscoll and (Paul) O'Connell who didn't play against us in the autumn. So I think, all in all, it points to them being passionate, much more competitive than they in the autumn and probably hurting.

"They experienced a Lions tour which was disappointing, they experienced a loss at Lansdowne Road and we know what we would be like under those conditions (losing at home).

They are going to be tough opponents which is good; it's just what we need."