The return of Leinster winger Shane Horgan was the only change to the side that struggled to a 32-17 victory over the Pool D minnows in Ireland's dire World Cup opener.

Horgan has recovered from the knee ligament strain that kept him out for four weeks and is restored to the right wing in place of Andrew Trimble.

Trimble has a fractured finger and is expected to be sidelined for a week, forcing him to drop out of the squad for Saturday's showdown with the Georgians.

After such an abject opener, O'Sullivan was well within his rights to swing the axe in a bid to reignite the nation's hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.

But he has given his first-choice XV a chance to atone for the nightmare at the Stade Chaban-Delmas - a policy that he claims has worked in the past.

"I wasn't in the mood for slashing and burning because of a bad performance like that," he said.

"We're a better team than that. In the past when the players have come up short, I've backed them and given them a vote of confidence to get it right.

"And they've always repaid that vote of confidence. I didn't see the logic of changing that approach this time.

"If you create an environment where a player gets dumped after one bad performance, you don't build any confidence in the squad. We're trying to build confidence, not erode it.

"The players are aware it was a bad performance and they have a chance to fix it. We've had bad performances before and haven't reacted by making lots of changes.

"I've known most of the players for a number of years. They were very disappointed, upset and angry with what they delivered against Namibia. I want them to put it right.

"In 2002 we got 'hockeyed' at Twickenham and there were a lot of people thinking there should be a slash and burn job on selection.

"I told the players they're not as bad as that and they proved me right by beating Scotland handsomely. We've done this before."