Eddie O'Sullivan has made three changes to the side that scraped past Georgia ahead of Friday's crucial game with hosts France at the Stade de France in Saint Denis. Most eye catching is the omission of scrumhalf Peter Stringer from the team and the replacements. The number nine shirt will be worn by Eoin Reddan of Wasps, with Isaac Boss on the bench.
Denis Hickie has failed to recover from a bruised knee and relinquishes his place to Andrew Trimble, who has recovered from a fractured finger sustained in the opening win over Namibia. Injury or not, Hickie has not been at his best in this campaign and may well have found himself playing second fiddle even if he was fit.
The one change in the pack sees Jerry Flannery replace Rory Best at hooker after the Ulsterman, who scored the opening try against Georgia, dislocated his thumb later in the game. Frankie Sheahan is named as the replacement hooker.
Prop John Hayes has recovered from a slight calf strain to take his place in the front row, while utility back Gavin Duffy has been named among the replacements instead of Geordan Murphy.
Number eight Denis Leamy, who is again named at the back of the scrum, faces an anxious wait to see if he gets cited for what he admitted was a "reckless" stamp on a Georgian opponent. That deadline passes this evening.
Like the rest of the team Stringer has struggled for form so far in the competition and unfortunately for him his drop in standards culminated in a pass that gifted Georgia an intercept try early in the second half on Saturday. That looks to have forced O'Sullivan's hand, but it still represents an uncharacteristic decision by the coach to leave one of his stalwarts out of the match-day squad altogether.
Stringer has played 79 times for Ireland and is the most-capped player behind lock Malcolm O'Kelly. He has developed an almost telepathic understanding with outhalf Ronan O'Gara, who he has played with since schoolboy level.
Like Stringer, Reddan is a European champion and is very highly rated in the English Premiership and within his London club. He is a crisp passer and closer to Stringer, as a player, than the more physical Isaac Boss who replaced Stringer after 70 minutes against Georgia.
O'Sullivan admitted today that the call was difficult, but down to a loss of form on the part of Stringer. The choice of Reddan to replace him was based on the similarities between the players rather than the differences.
"Peter Stringer, that was a tough one. Peter has been the star of the team but he has been struggling with his form and he is not at the top of his game," O'Sullivan told today's news conference. "(The choice of Reddan) is based on the type of game we want to play against France, plus his form was good at the tail end of the season for Wasps."
"He ticks the boxes for what we want this weekend and it is probably a surprise he comes in from out of the (previous) 22."
Despite his club pedigree, Reddan, 26, will be earning just his fourth cap against France. He debuted against them as a replacement in the 2006 Six Nations championship. On the summer Tour to Argentina he suffered from a lack of protection from his pack and struggled to make an impact.
The coach claims that "straight swap" of Trimble for Hickie was not because he has been "unhappy with his (Hickie's) game," but one could be forgiven for thinking that the Leinster winger simply didn't make enough of an impact in the last two matches.
Left wing Hickie has 29 tries in 62 appearances for Ireland, making him the most ruthless finisher at O'Sullivan's disposal with tries in 47 per cent of his games. Trimble, however, pushes the St Mary's man close with eight in 18 (44 per cent). It's an impressive tally considering the Ulsterman has been used in a variety of positions for his country thus far.
The decision to replace Murphy with Duffy will be seen by many as a curious one. It was a call made with the opponents specifically in mind. Murphy's most recent encounter with France was the debut of rugby in Croke Park when the Leicester player missed a tackle on hooker Raphael Ibanez allowing Les Bleues in for the opening try in a game they went on to win.
It will be tough to take for one of the most naturally talented players in the squad, though he has seen just one minute of game time despite being a replacement in both matches so far.
"Gavin Duffy comes in to cover the back three, a job usually done by Geordan (Murphy). But Geordan's last few games against France haven't been a happy hunting ground," said the coach. "They have not been good days. That's my decision and I stand over that. Gavin can also cover the centre so this bench gives me more options."
Disastrous performances against willing but limited minnows have left the Irish side low in confidence and dramatic turnaround in form is necessary if qualification from Pool D is to be achieved.
"It's a big week, that's for sure. I'm not sure if it's my biggest week (as coach). Once France had lost to Argentina it was always going to be a pivotal match in the group. What's been disappointing for us is we haven't been in form before the game. The way we have been playing I understand why this could be described as a crisis."
Crisis or not, Ireland must at least finish within seven points of France or their World Cup is effectively over, before what was originally perceived to be a crunch game with Argentina in Paris on September 30th. Los Pumas play Namibia on Saturday in a game that will surely see them pick up their second bonus point of the campaign.
France, meanwhile, have concerns over the fitness of vice-captain Fabien Pelous and number eight Imanol Harinordoquy.
Lock Pelous fell awkwardly on his knee during the 87-10 defeat of Namibia yesterday, while Harinordoquy injured his thumb.
Coach Bernard Laporte is already without David Skrela after the outhalf injured his Achilles tendon in the 17-12 defeat to Argentina on the opening night of the tournament.
The Les Bleus starting XV is due to be announced on Wednesday morning. "If we have decided not to name the team until Wednesday, it is to give ourselves some time, to speak to the players and take the right decisions," team manager Jo Maso said today.
Ireland XV(v France): Girvan Dempsey; Shane Horgan, Brian O'Driscoll (captain), Gordon D'Arcy, Andrew Trimble; Ronan O'Gara, Eoin Reddan; Marcus Horan, Jerry Flannery, John Hayes, Donncha O'Callaghan, Paul O'Connell, Simon Easterby Llaneli, David Wallace, Denis Leamy
Replacements: Frankie Sheahan, Simon Best, Malcolm O'Kelly, Neil Best, Isaac Boss, Paddy Wallace, Gavin Duffy
