Brian O'Driscoll believes criticism of Ireland's current No 13 Jared Payne is "unfounded".
The Ireland legend joined us on Off The Ball as he will do after Ireland's Rugby World Cup games and picked out the elements of Payne's game which has impressed him.
"What I like with Jared is that he looks for it and if it's there, great, but he doesn't force it and he'll take the ball into contact if he has to. I really have to say, any of the stick that he's gotten is completely unfounded because I really believe he's the glue in this team that's combining what we have at half-back with the talent we have at wing and full-back now."
Brian also expects Luke Fitzgerald to start against Italy and also feels double try-scorer Keith Earls is starting to show his potential.
"The thing about Earls was, players said it for years, he was always this magnificent trainer that never quite translated it onto the international stage on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and now I think that talent is really coming through. For not a big guy, he's very powerful with wicked acceleration," he said.
Listen to the full chat with Brian via the podcast:
