News round-upOpportunity will beckon for a raft of World Cup wannabees when Ireland host Italy at Thomond Park on Saturday week after the Irish management yesterday announced a squad of 22 for this second of three warm-up games.
All told, 14 players not involved in the 35-12 win over Wales on Saturday have been called up.
Geordan Murphy, Brian O'Driscoll and David Humphreys are the only three starters from Saturday retained, in part a commentary on the lack of options at outhalf and outside centre. With Ronan O'Gara and Paul Burke still sidelined, David Humphreys will almost certainly be asked to wear the number 10 jersey again, while Murphy, whether from full back or more likely the bench, will again cover the outhalf slot.
O'Driscoll's selection indicates he will probably resume the captaincy for this outing, but more tellingly, indicates that as far as coach Eddie O'Sullivan is concerned, there is no viable alternative to him at outside centre.
Furthermore, when asked yesterday if this indicated that O'Driscoll would play in all four World Cup pool matches, against Romania, Namibia, Argentina and Australia, the Irish coach suggested O'Driscoll wouldn't be the only one.
"Look, everybody realises Brian O'Driscoll is Ireland's first-choice centre and he might as well be playing for Ireland as playing for Leinster. We will be going into each pool game with a strong selection.
"It's pretty much like the Six Nations because all our games are a week apart. We're not like England and the All Blacks. We won't be chopping and changing. That's not our World Cup strategy."
As for any possible alternative to O'Driscoll should anything untoward happen him, O'Sullivan candidly admitted: "There isn't really another option close to him. I don't even want to go there."
It will be with particular relief the management has named John Hayes, whose groin problems have prevented him from playing for Ireland since the Grand Slam decider against England in March. With Emmet Byrne still sidelined due to his neck injury, there is no other tighthead in the squad of proven Test ability.
Marcus Horan, ruled out of the Welsh game with an ankle injury, and Victor Costello, sidelined the day before by the recurrence of a calf strain, are also named. Indeed, such is the competition in the back five of the pack, only Donncha O'Callaghan is retained from the Welsh game, with Gary Longwell, Leo Cullen and an entirely new back-row quartet of Costello, Simon Easterby, Eric Miller and Kieron Dawson called up for the Italian game.
At least they'll get chances of some sort to play in these three trial/warm-up games. Others, such as Justin Bishop and Gordon D'Arcy, confined to a bit part on Saturday, mightn't be so fortunate, though here again, O'Sullivan pointed out that performances for their clubs and provinces might be just as valid as those in the three Tests.
"Fellas might be getting jumpy if they haven't been picked yet in these games but they shouldn't be. In some cases we know what players are capable of but we might want to have a look at other players in those positions. I wouldn't like players to feel if they had a good game against Wales they can afford to have a shocker next Friday night," said O'Sullivan in reference to the provinces' upcoming pre-season friendlies.
O'Sullivan will attend the Leinster-Gloucester match at Donnybrook, while Brian O'Brien and Niall O'Donovan will be at the Munster-Rotherham match, and Declan Kidney will take in the Ulster-Orrell game. The management will also have a tape of the Narbonne-London Irish game on Friday night sent to them to assess Bishop's comeback match from an horrific ankle injury.
"Alan Gaffney and Gary Ella will be getting a plethora of international players this week but to be fair to them they're doing it for the good of the international team."
The outside backs/midfield is also a very competitive area. Rob Henderson and Jonathan Bell, possibly vying for one place, have both been included here and it will be interesting to see which of them gets the nod for the number 12 jersey. However a hand injury sustained in training yesterday, although confirmed as no more than bad bruising, has cast a cloud over Bell's involvement.
Others liable to be getting edgy are those still sidelined by various injuries, namely O'Gara, Burke, Bishop, Byrne, Shane Horgan, Neil Doak and James Topping. Encouragingly, O'Sullivan said that Horgan had "come on a huge amount" since sustaining another tear in his quadriceps and reckons most or all should be back in the equation for the Scottish game in Murrayfield on September 6th.
A day later the 30-man World Cup squad is announced. They return from a week's warm weather training in Bilbao, although with Munster and Ulster both receiving a bye in the first round of the Celtic Cup, the Irish team, in the guise of an Irish President's XV, will play an Irish under-25 side on Friday, September 19th.
IRELAND SQUAD, v Italy, Thomond Park, August 30th): Forwards: S Byrne (Leinster), V Costello, L Cullen (both Leinster), K Dawson (London Irish), S Easterby (Llanelli), J Fitzpatrick (Castres), J Hayes, M Horan (both Munster), G Longwell (Ulster), E Miller (Leinster), D O'Callaghan (Munster), P Shields (Ulster).
Backs: J Bell (Ulster), G Dempsey (Leinster), G Easterby (Rotherham), D Hickie (Leinster), R Henderson, J Kelly (both Munster), G Murphy (Leicester), B O'Driscoll, B O'Meara (both Leinster), D Humphreys (Ulster).
Additional players for training: R Corrigan, G D'Arcy (Leinster), T Howe (Ulster), A Horgan, P O'Connell, A Quinlan (all Munster), P Wallace (Ulster).
