O'Sullivan to rest his frontliners

RUGBY/World Cup referees:Eddie O'Sullivan is set to rest the starting XV that kicked off the 43-13 win over England in Croke Park from the forthcoming two-Test tour to World Cup group rivals Argentina when he announces the 30-man squad for that venture on Monday. And so Ireland's resources will be stretched as never before,given the head coach will also be announcing an A squad of 28 for the Churchill Cup.

O'Sullivan is, however, guarded about making pronouncements to that effect pending another round of Magners Celtic League fixtures this weekend.

"I'm hoping to rest some of the frontline players but given another weekend of matches, various injuries and the fact that we have to name 58 players on Monday, I'm going to wait and see how this weekend goes," he said.

O'Sullivan's plans are also complicated by Wasps and Leicester reaching the Heineken European Cup final on Sunday, May 20th, just six days before the first Test against the Pumas in Santa Fe. The finalists have the heaviest Irish representation outside Ireland.

The Ireland squad are set to assemble on Sunday, May 13th, after the final round of Celtic League games, for a week's training prior to departure for Buenos Aires the following Saturday. But the likes of Eoin Reddan, Johnny O'Connor, Jeremy Staunton, Shane Jennings, Geordan Murphy and Leo Cullen will not be ruled out of the tour, and if selected will leave London on Monday, May 21st, to join the squad the following day.

It is not ideal, but as O'Sullivan concedes, had one or more Irish provinces reached the final their Argentinian preparations would have been hindered even more.

Indeed, within seven days of Munster losing the 2000 European Cup final to Northampton at Twickenham, Ireland were losing 34-23 to the Pumas in Buenos Aires with a side featuring six of the Munster pack and Peter Stringer.

Resting 15 frontliners would make sense on many fronts; reducing the risk of injury to key players, affording them an earlier three-week off-season and a lengthier pre-season prior to the World Cup, and hopefully extending the squad's strength for the World Cup while also not showing their hosts and group rivals Ireland's full hand.

Nor are Ireland alone, given the indecent haste with which the end-of-season tours have been foisted on the European nations to accommodate an earlier start (and finish) for the Tri-Nations in advance of the World Cup, which kicks off on September 7th.

Indeed, Argentina themselves are almost certain to be without about a dozen of their players given their involvement in the French Championship play-offs - the semi-finals are on June 2nd, and the final in Stade de France is a week later.

Stade Français alone have five Pumas in their ranks, including Juan Martin Hernandez and Agustin Pichot, and Clermont Auvergne's likely participation would rule out their Puma trio, including Mario Ledesma, while the other play-off contenders, Toulouse, Perpignan and Biarritz, have two Argentinians apiece.

In fact, rather ridiculously, the French championship play-offs clash with the World Cup hosts' two Tests against the mighty All Blacks in Auckland and Wellington, thereby ruling out the vast bulk of Bernard Laporte's first-choice squad from that demanding series.

Brian Ashton must somehow assemble a team for the first of two Tests against the Springboks in Bloemfontein just six days after Leicester and Wasps - the two sides who provided him with his entire English pack by the end of the Six Nations - lock horns in the European Cup final at Twickenham.

All told, the IRB confirmed 48 refereeing appointments for 48 internationals between now and the start of the World Cup (not including the Churchill Cup), with the Tri-Nations finishing a fortnight before the World Cup warm-up matches start.

Such a schedule hardly whets the appetite for the 48-game jamboree in France in September and October, and merely supports the claim by Serge Blanco and others that there is a far too much Test rugby.Ireland's Alan Lewis and Alain Rolland are among the 12 referees named yesterday by the IRB for the World Cup in France.

England's Tony Spreadbury will take charge of the prestigious opening game, between France and Argentina in Paris on September 7th, organisers said.

Ireland's Simon McDowell is one of the 13 touch judges for the tournament.

Ireland's two key group matches against France and Argentina will be refereed by Chris White (widely regarded as the world's best) and Paul Honiss respectively.

Referees: Wayne Barnes (Eng), Stuart Dickinson (Aus), Paul Honiss (NZ), Marius Jonker (S Africa), Joël Jutge (Fra), Jonathan Kaplan (SA), Alan Lewis (Ire), Nigel Owens (Wal), Alain Rolland (Ire), Tony Spreadbury (Eng), Steve Walsh (NZ), Chris White (Eng).

Touch judges: Christophe Berdos (Fra), Lyndon Bray (NZ), Malcolm Changleng (Scot), Federico Cuesta (Arg), Carlo Damasco (Ita), Kelvin Deaker (NZ), Craig Joubert (SA), Bryce Lawrence (NZ), Mark Lawrence (SA), Paul Marks (Aus), Simon McDowell (Ire), Dave Pearson (Eng), Hugh Watkins (Wal).