Doyle leads out much-changed Ireland side

Rep of Ireland v South Africa:GIVEN THE manner of Saturday's win in Cyprus, there will be those who argue that an Ireland side unrecognisable from the one that took the field in Nicosia can only be a good thing. At around 7.30 this evening we will discover if the people of Limerick agree because there is certainly little to link the starting starting line-up three days ago with the one named to play South Africa tonight.

Speaking on Sunday when he explained the reasons behind some of the departures by senior players, Giovanni Trapattoni mentioned Richard Dunne had gone back to England to relocate his family in the wake of last week’s move to Aston Villa. It came out, though, as “change his whole family”, which is akin to what the Italian has done to his team for tonight’s game in Thomond Park.

There are eight changes to the starting line-up, more than the Italian has made for any of his previous 14 games in charge. Only Seán St Ledger, Keith Andrews and Kevin Doyle, who captains the side, survive from the weekend, while John O’Shea and Aiden McGeady have both returned with injuries to their clubs.

The problem in O’Shea’s case is a badly bruised calf muscle that will need treatment before Manchester United’s game against Tottenham Hotspur this Saturday.

Crystal Palace defender Paddy McCarthy received a rare call-up over the weekend and was due to join up with the squad last night, bringing the number of players available to Trapattoni for tonight’s game to 19.

Amongst the eight substitutes will be Damien Duff who, perhaps feeling the need to bolster his image as one of football’s more laid-back individuals, apparently volunteered, at a time he was under consideration to skipper the side, to sit on the bench to allow his manager weigh up alternatives.

Trapattoni, to be fair, didn’t sound like he expected this evening’s trawl through the margins of his squad to yield any “must starts” for the Italy game next month, but Eddie Nolan and Liam Lawrence were mentioned often enough at yesterday’s press pre-match conference to suggest they can certainly advance their situations.

“We can not change the system with this squad,” said the Italian, who acknowledged that something on the scale of Stephen Ireland’s return would merit a tactical reappraisal, “so we need the other players to be able to fit into the team and to learn what we need, how they must play”.

Others, like Leon Best, Glenn Whelan and Shane Long will hope to get on at some stage, while Darren O’Dea stands a very good chance, given neither centre half is fit, of making his international debut.

Doyle, predictably enough, looked pleased with the prospect of wearing the armband for the first time although with characteristic honesty and good humour he didn’t paint his spell as stand-in skipper at Reading last year as a triumph.

“I captained them for about a month last year and it was an experience,” he said. “We did get one win and didn’t get beaten too many times in the four or five games I was captain for.”

To judge by his assessment of Saturday night, the striker will be hoping to bring a little more composure to Ireland’s performance this evening.

Things did not go exactly to plan in Nicosia, he admitted, particularly the over-reliance on long balls forward.

“Early on, it was more a case of just getting started that way but it wasn’t the plan to go on like that,” he said. “It was to sit deeper straight away so we could play a bit more but we got nervous when they scored. It wasn’t the plan, it just developed that way, although thankfully, it was better second half.”

While others may have regarded tonight’s game as an unwanted distraction, Doyle is happy to continue his recuperation from a hernia operation.

“Having missed pre-season, the end of last season and games last summer for Ireland, it’s ideal for me to play here because it will help me along a bit more, I need the games.”

Failure to qualify for next year’s African Cup of Nations has emphasised the scale of South Africa’s decline since the 1990s when they won that competition and twice made it to World Cup finals.

Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Germany made it five losses in a row.

South Africa’s Brazilian manager, Joel Santana, is missing several of his better players for tonight’s game, including top scorer Benni McCarthy.

“Ireland is one team that is not easy to play against especially at home,” he says.

“They have one philosophy which we South Africans are not comfortable with – they play long ball, they play pressure football, they are strong and make you very uncomfortable.”

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND:Westwood (Coventry City); Kelly (Fulham), McShane (Hull City), St Ledger (Preston North End), Nolan (Preston North End); Lawrence (Stoke City), Gibson (Manchester United), Andrews (Blackburn Rovers), Keogh (Wolverhampton Wanderers); Folan (Hull City), Doyle (Wolverhampton Wanderers).

Kenny Banned For Nine Months After Failed Drugs Test

SHEFFIELD UNITED goalkeeper Paddy Kenny has been handed a nine-month ban from all football after failing a drugs test.

A routine sample of Kenny‘s urine taken after the Blades‘ clash with Preston in May 2009 was found to have traces of banned substance ephedrine.

Kenny admitted the charge and a Regulatory Commission hearing yesterday ruled the Republic of Ireland international would be suspended for a nine-month period, back-dated to July 22nd when an English FA ban took effect.

The Regulatory Commission found that “on the balance of probabilities that the substance was not taken with the intention of enhancing sporting performance” but that Kenny’s conduct, in taking an over-the-counter medicine, had displayed “significant fault”.