Players go on trial as Ireland make 13 changes

RUGBY: With 12 days to go until the cut-off point for Ireland's 30-man World Cup squad, rarely has an Irish team taken the field with so much weight on individual shoulders in the already pressurised atmosphere of Test rugby,

In the light of 13 changes from the more recognisable starting line-up against Wales, the sense of players being on trial for one of the biggest goals of their career is even more pronounced for Saturday's game against Italy at Thomond Park.

For players like Rob Henderson, Gary Longwell, Leo Cullen and, it almost goes without saying, the entire back row of Simon Easterby, Victor Costello and Eric Miller this is particularly true, not to mention virtually the entire replacements bench, where Donncha O'Callaghan, Kieron Dawson, Brian O'Meara, Johnny Bell and co will be straining at the leash for what may be their only opportunity in these three warm-up Tests.

Although only Brian O'Driscoll (restored to the captaincy) and David Humphreys are retained in the starting line-up, in truth the one eye-catching decision is the choice of Miller at openside.

There's always the danger of reading too much into these things, but given one of the other four backrow men chosen in the World Cup squad will have to theoretically cover for Keith Gleeson at openside, Miller's prospects look to have been enhanced. Certainly they will be if he carries on where he left off on tour and reproduces his storming start to the season for Leinster against Gloucester last Friday.

Significantly too, although Miller hasn't worn the Irish number seven shirt since first breaking into the team in 1997, he did operate in defence at openside against Samoa while playing off number eight in attack.

"We have a difficulty with the back row, we've got a lot of players for positions, so it's about giving guys a run really," said Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan. Dawson was re-routed to Galway last night to play half a game for London Irish in front of the watching O'Sullivan and must be disappointed he is confined to a place on the bench next Saturday.

O'Sullivan was assuredly intent on keeping players on their toes when initially stating that 10 or 15 squad places were still undecided at the outset of these trials-cum-warm-up games and is continuing to do so. Yet by the same token it would be surprising if two or three places weren't still up for grabs, or that one or two others mightn't yet be swayed by performances between now and Sunday week.

"As I've said not everything hinges on these particular (Test) games. There's provincial games also, which we have to take stock of, but I know the lads themselves see it as a very important game from their perspective. It's hard to get away from that at the end of the day."

The Italians are coming off a disappointing 47-15 defeat to Scotland in Murrayfield last Saturday but have made 11 changes to their line-up in a selection that is again seen as something of a mix-and-match pick by coach John Kirwan. The Parma left-winger Diego Sacca is the one new cap.

In describing their result against Scotland as "pretty irrelevant" O'Sullivan pointed out that Italy conceded 17 points while one of their players was sinbinned and a further seven in the last play of the game.

Interestingly, Mauro Bergamasco has been restored at openside after making himself unavailable as a converted winger - where Kirwan tried him last season - and subsequently missed the Azzurris' summer tour to New Zealand where they played against provincial sides.

Two-thirds of Italy's starting line-up differs from the side which Ireland beat 37-13 in Rome last season but unlike a Six Nations game O'Sullivan and his staff won't "over-indulge" in advance analysis of their opponents. "Really it's about getting on with your own job."

Asked was it a relief to have John Hayes back in harness, O'Sullivan said it had been until noon, when Hayes strained his calf in the scrum session. The extent of the injury will become clearer today.

More encouraging is that Emmet Byrne, though not playing at the weekend, is off the injured list after "a miraculous recovery" and is expected to have a 20-minute run-out for Leinster against Coventry tomorrow and half a game in Gloucester on Saturday.

O'Sullivan is hopeful Ronan O'Gara will be given the all-clear on Monday after recovering from the broken scaphoid he sustained against Tonga (and played with, undetected, against Samoa) while Shane Horgan "has made good progress and we'll have a much better picture next week."

There's also Frankie Sheahan's appeal against his two-year suspension next week, which could yet throw his name back in the hat. "I wouldn't want to pre-empt anything on that. It's a fairly delicate situation," said O'Sullivan, though when pushed he admitted Sheahan's enforced idleness wouldn't necessarily rule him out if he suddenly became available.

O'Sullivan sees no point in publicly committing himself to either a 16-14 or 17-13 split between forwards and backs in his World Cup squad.

"What we'll be trying to do is to get the best 30 guys on the plane to Australia. We've got to let this unfold a bit, in terms of the games we're playing, the form of the players, the injury situation and then when it comes to the final moment, sit down and pick the best squad we can pick at that time."

He'll be another step clearer in his thinking at Saturday teatime.

IRELAND: G Dempsey (Leinster); J Kelly (Munster), B O'Driscoll (Leinster) captain, R Henderson (Munster), D Hickie (Leinster); D Humphreys (Ulster), G Easterby (Rotherham); M Horan (Munster), S Byrne (Leinster), J Hayes (Munster), G Longwell (Ulster), L Cullen (Leinster), S Easterby (Llanelli), E Miller (Leinster), V Costello (Leinster). Replacements: P Shields (Ulster), J Fitzpatrick (Castres), D O'Callaghan (Munster), K Dawson (London Irish), B O'Meara (Leinster), G Murphy (Leicester), J Bell (Ulster).

Not considered because of injury: Shane Horgan (Leinster), Ronan O'Gara (Munster).

ITALY: G Peens; N Mazzucato, G Raineri, M Barbine, D Sacca; F Mazzariol, A Troncon (captain); A Lo Cicero, F Ongaro, M Castrogiovanni, M Giacheri, A de Rossi, S Parisse, M Bergamasco. Replacements: C Festuccia, R Martinez, A Persico, M Phillips, M Mazzantini, R Pez, C Stoica.