SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIPWHILE THE vexed issue of who will play at fullback against Wales remains dependent upon medical bulletins on Messrs Murphy and Dempsey, otherwise Eddie O'Sullivan went through a routine selection announcement yesterday for Saturday's eagerly awaited showdown with Wales and some bloke called Warren.
As expected, Bernard Jackman carried the can for the malfunctioning lineout against Scotland, with Rory Best recalled, and just as predictably the Ireland coach has gambled on the fitness of Paul O'Connell, after one full outing in five months, by recalling him at the expense of Mick O'Driscoll.
As for the hoary old chestnut of his own relationship with Warren Gatland, unsurprisingly O'Sullivan played the straightest of straight bats to the full-length balls and ducked the one token bouncer.
O'Sullivan was always likely to make a special case of O'Connell, an iconic figure as well as rallying point and undoubted leadership material. Three substitute outings for Munster A, Munster and Ireland, followed by a full match against Cardiff last Saturday, were sufficient to have him reinstated.
Clearly, it's preferable to have the Munster totem's physicality for the first 40 - when the lines in the sand are drawn - rather than the second. Knowing O'Connell, he'll go longer than that, as he did with what O'Sullivan described as "an ideal game for a forward" in the Arms Park last Saturday, typified by a try that owed everything to his sheer strength and force of will, even if, understandably, his effort tapered off a tad in the final quarter.
O'Sullivan denied O'Connell's recall was in part to solve the apparent lack of real leadership in the pack, and that the change at hooker was just as tough a call on Jackman "because all the other aspects of his game were excellent; he just had a difficult day at the lineout and Rory did play very well on Friday night with his province".
O'Sullivan has left a vacancy at fullback where Girvan Dempsey (hip flexor) and Geordan Murphy (strained Achilles tendon) are still struggling. Whereas Murphy is purely confined to rehab, Dempsey did some running again yesterday, though the coach said his gut feeling is "50-50".
Dempsey's recovery is proving less predictable whereas Murphy's injury, which could in part be related to the plate he had inserted in his broken leg in 2003, "could clear up within 48 hours".
If given the choice, he says he knows which he way he will go. If it's a form selection, in keeping with the coach's favourite yardstick, then it has to be Murphy, and the argument that he won't have trained ought not to count for much, given he didn't train the week of the Scottish game either.
But if O'Sullivan goes with his innate instincts, and his stated "first choice", then it will be Dempsey. if both are ruled out, Robert Kearney will switch to full-back, with Tommy Bowe shifting across to the left wing to accommodate Shane Horgan and Luke Fitzgerald called up to the bench.
O'Sullivan confirmed that even if both are declared fit, whoever is not chosen to start will miss out on the 22 altogether as "the bench won't change". Presumably this is because Horgan provides cover for midfield.
O'Sullivan hadn't had time to digest fully the Welsh selection, the entirely valid excuse being "Dublin traffic", though the extent of the changes didn't surprise him given "the way that Warren has kept rotating the squad".
While Wales are "where they want to be", O'Sullivan said Ireland are "getting there" - albeit with the rider that Saturday has to be "another step forward again" - and highlighted a more solid set piece, their continuity game and quicker ruck ball.
Describing Wales's "run and gun" game as akin to their 2005 vintage and the biggest test Ireland have faced so far, O'Sullivan acknowledged the change in Wales's defence to "the more aggressive, up-and-in blitz".
Eoin Reddan's familiarity with this blitz defence under Gatland and Shaun Edwards at Wasps has been helpful. And because of the reduced time on the ball and different spaces to run at, O'Sullivan admitted it requires an adjustment to Ireland's attacking strategy.
Inevitably, he was asked how he would describe his relationship with Gatland, to which his voice didn't alter one octave.
"Fine," he began, before adding briefly: "I haven't seen Warren in six-and-a-half years." Confirming that they met for "about 30 seconds at the Six Nations launch" he was asked if it added extra spice to Saturday's meeting.
"I don't think so because I think it's a game of rugby at the weekend. It's a Six Nations game between Wales and Ireland, and we happen to be coaching the teams. It certainly makes great lines for you guys but I think if you ask the players it's about going out and winning the Test game on Saturday. I think if we get wrapped up in anything other than that it would be very foolish. I think we've just got to focus on the job."
His interrogator persisted, citing a quote attributed to Gatland that "people had told him about you before you became the backs coach with Ireland" and wondered what he would have meant.
"You'll have to ask him that. You're asking me what he meant by what he said. I'm missing the point here. If you want to know what somebody said, ask them. I think that's a reasonable answer," he concluded, chuckling slightly.
