ON RUGBY:As the season reaches its business end, opportunities are running out for 'bolters' to make Ireland's World Cup squad, writes GERRY THORNLEY
UNLIKE, SAY, the Italian and Scottish seasons – where Andy Robinson can pretty much afford to start the World Cup countdown now – with three Irish teams set for the Magners League play-offs and another two in Euro semi-finals, the Irish season is likely to run and run until the last weekend in May. This makes for a comparatively reduced pre-season prior to the warm-up matches in August, but so be it.
Hence, provincial form of late and for the remainder of the season – starting this weekend – could prove highly significant individually in the context of the 30-man Irish World Cup squad. Unlike 2007, there is no summer tour, so time is already running out.
The first three of Ireland’s four warm-up matches, away to Scotland and away and at home to France, afford Declan Kidney and co limited elbow row for trialing individuals, as they would prefer to use those games for their frontliners to obtain match practice.
Resources can only go so far, and the provinces will be particularly strained during the eight or nine league games which clash with the World Cup.
Even so, Ireland’s decision not to have the Wolfhounds take part in the Churchill Cup looks questionable, not least as the tournament takes place in England (Northampton, Esher, Gloucester and Worcester) from June 4th-18th. Instead, three of Ireland’s pool opponents – Italy, the USA and Russia – will take part, as will Tonga, Canada and, of course, the English Saxons, which will presumably provide plenty of useful information for Martin Johnson as well.
This particularly militates against the would-be “bolters” now being hailed from all sides, be it Felix Jones, Conor Murray, Paddy McAllister, Nevin Spence, Darren Cave or whomever. In this regard, Tony McGahan has done a good job for both Munster and Kidney in that he has overseen a resourceful and resilient run of form since Munster’s Heineken Cup exit while also giving game-time to the likes of Jones, Murray, Donnacha Ryan, Ian Nagle and others.
The composition of the preliminary 50-man squad to be named by June 17th will underline the improved strength in depth and options which Kidney has helped to develop compared to four years ago. However, regarding the August 22nd deadline for the final 30-man squad, the problem for Jones (whom Keith Wood, for one, believes simply “has to go” to the World Cup), Murray, Spence, Cave et al, is simply a lack of substantial opportunity, not to mention room within a 30-man squad. It’s not as big as it looks.
If, for example, Kidney and co opt for a split of 17 forwards and 13 backs – perhaps likelier given the long haul to New Zealand and the generally heavier strain on frontrowers and backrowers – with three scrumhalves, two specialist outhalves and three out-and-out midfielders, that leaves only five more places for outside backs.
Versatility will be decidedly useful, in that the likes of Keith Earls, Tommy Bowe and Luke Fitzgerald can all play in midfield as well. Admittedly, Fitzgerald could do with a strong showing between now and the season’s end. You’d also have to think that at least one or other of Rob Kearney and Geordan Murphy will travel, while Paddy Wallace’s status as a third outhalf/goalkicker will also work in his favour.
This could conceivably leave no room for Fergus McFadden, Shane Horgan, Gavin Duffy and Murphy or Kearney, before you even come to Jones, Spence and Cave, not to mention Ian Humphreys, whose attacking game is on fire. Similarly, presuming Tomás O’Leary and Eoin Reddan travel, Conor Murray would have to elbow in ahead of Peter Stringer and Isaac Boss.
The three hookers are likely to be Rory Best, Seán Cronin and Jerry Flannery, if fit, or if not then Damien Varley.
The propping department looks thin. Along with Cian Healy and Mike Ross, Tom Court is liable to travel given he notionally covers both sides (and curiously the World Cup will have 22-man match-day squads rather than 23, even though there’ll be plenty of props in attendance). Tony Buckley appears to be ahead of John Hayes as another tighthead, with Marcus Horan perhaps ahead of Brett Wilkinson or Jamie Hagan.
Donncha O’Callaghan, Paul O’Connell and Leo Cullen are the highest ranking locks coming out of the Six Nations, and David Wallace, Jamie Heaslip, Seán O’Brien, Denis Leamy and, if fit, Stephen Ferris, the leading backrowers. This would leave just one more place for a backrower cum lock, which Kidney and co appear to have an eye on judging by Dan Tuohy’s selection last summer and Mike McCarthy last November.
Donnacha Ryan looks to be a management favourite, as is Rhys Ruddock, though arguably Kevin McLaughlin is the most in-form candidate now. And, in addition to two of those three plus McCarthy and Tuohy, this means excluding Mick O’Driscoll, Devin Toner, John Muldoon, Shane Jennings, Chris Henry, Niall Ronan and more, all of whom have played for Ireland in the last year.
There’s also Dominic Ryan, Ulster’s Willie Falloon and their South African backrower Robbie Diack, who will be eligible come World Cup time, through surely he needed a longer, less injury-afflicted season than the one he’s had.
In all of this, it’s worth bearing in mind that, in his wisdom, Eddie O’Sullivan did not bring Tommy Bowe, Jamie Heaslip, Luke Fitzgerald or Rob Kearney to France four years ago, and all four were Lions Test starters two summers later. Four years on, the aforementioned bolters are probably behind that quartet, who were already full internationals at that juncture.
Thus, a possible World Cup 30 would omit plenty of fully-fledged internationals as well as bolters, if it looked something like this:
BACKS (Back five, 5) – Earls, Bowe, Trimble, Fitzgerald, Kearney. (Midfield, 3) – O’Driscoll, D’Arcy, P Wallace. (Outhalves, 2) – Sexton, O’Gara. (Scrumhalves, 3) – Reddan, O’Leary, Stringer.
FORWARDS (Hookers, 3) Best, Cronin, Flannery. (Props, 5) Healy, Ross, Court, Horan, Buckley. (Locks, 3) – O’Connell, O’Callaghan, Cullen. (Backrow, 6) – Heaslip, D Wallace, O’Brien, Ferris, Leamy, McLaughlin.