Plane trek takes toll on Wood

Rugby: It was too good to be true really and invariably there had to be some payback for the hectic, in-and-out travel arrangements for the trek to Siberia last weekend. Keith Wood and Ronan O'Gara both sat out yesterday's session in Greystones, with the captain's chances of playing rated as no better than 50-50 by manager Brian O'Brien after the long return haul aggravated Wood's stiff neck.

O'Gara's knee injury is of less concern but having named an unchanged side for Saturday's concluding World Cup qualifier against Georgia at Lansdowne Road (3.0) coach Eddie O'Sullivan admitted that it was the return plane journey which has jeopardised Wood's involvement.

"He had a little bit of bother with it last week but it wasn't a major problem and he had no problem after the game, but coming back on the long-haul flight it kind of manifested itself, so I suppose the travel had a bearing on it."

Wood agreed: "It was fine after the match but sitting down through seven time zones I was very stiff on Saturday night. It's unimaginatively called a sore neck but I'm hoping it'll sort itself out in the next day or two."

When put to him that his chances of recovering had been estimated at 50-50, Wood said: "I remember a Welsh player at one staging saying 'my chances are 60-50'. No, 50-50 would be about right. But I'd hope to be pretty sharp by Thursday."

As a precaution Frankie Sheahan has been called up though Wood will be given every chance to lead an unchanged team.

O'Sullivan maintained there had never been any intention to rotate his squad during these two qualifiers. "It's a game that we would not mess around with. These guys (Georgia) are a well-organised outfit. We've a bit of knowledge of what they're about and they're a decent rugby team.

"They performed very well on the world sevens stage as a nation, and they bring a lot of that into their game. They're good footballers, quick and their handling skills are excellent. I certainly wouldn't want to take anything for granted against Georgia on Saturday. We want to go into the game as strong as we can and play as well as we can."

The Georgians were held to a 12-12 draw at home by Russia in last year's European Nations Cup, and were beaten 31-23 in their most recent outing in Tbilisi by Romania last June.

In a previous World Cup qualifying meeting four years ago Ireland won by 70-0 in a game notable for several try-scoring debuts, not least by Girvan Dempsey, who scored two tries in a 30-minute cameo on the wing.

The Georgian prop Levan Tsabadze plays with Castres and Russia's coach James Stoffberg pointed to their scrum as one of the strongest aspects of their game.

"Yeah, they've a good scrum," said O'Sullivan. "Their set-piece is good and a thing that strikes me about them is that they play with a phenomenal amount of passion. They're pretty ferocious in the tackle. Again I suppose I'll be criticised for talking them up and talking us down, but they're a very good side and a lot better than people give them credit for."

O'Sullivan strove to keep contact work to a minimum yesterday before injecting "a bit more fizz and pop into it" today and then easing off again tomorrow.

The game is likely to be notable for David Humphreys equalling the legendary Jackie Kyle's record as Ireland's most capped outhalf, set at 46 Tests between 1947 and '58, presuming he appears at some stage regardless of whether O'Gara is passed fit or not.

"To get that number of caps David has been around a while but throughout he's been a consummate professional," said O'Sullivan. "It would be hard to find a better member of the squad, whether he's standing in the number 10 shirt or sitting on the bench he brings the same positive energy to the team and the same attitude, and the same willingness to help everybody.

"He's a model squad member and again a guy we know who's a whisker away from stepping into 10 shirt and playing at the top level. He's proved at times to be one of the best flyhalves in the world when he's on his game and it's the classic example of himself and Ronan being neck and neck for the position.

"It's great for him to reach that landmark. It's a fantastic achievement and if anybody deserves it, David Humphreys does."