Eire06
08/02/2005, 4:33 PM
Has to be a good sign
Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan has named captain Brian O'Driscoll and his centre partner Gordon D'Arcy in the side to play Scotland in the Six Nations on Saturday.
Both were in doubt after they limped off in last weekend's 28-17 win over Italy with hamstring injuries, and after scans on Monday night, the diagnosis was not as severe as first thought.
Despite O'Sullivan's optimism, the next 24 hours will be crucial for both centres to respond to treatment, with the option of Kevin Maggs an obvious replacement at centre, and winger Shane Horgan, who performed so well at centre against South Africa, another option.
"Brian and Gordon came through their scans last night, and it looks as if things aren't as bad as we originally thought," said O'Sullivan.
"There is no doubting as to how important their fitness is to us. We'll just have to wait and see how they progress over the next few days, and then we'll be in a position to make a decision."
"The Italian match was just two days ago, so with a six-day turnaround for the Scotland trip you have to give the guys every chance to fully recover. I would be a foolish man to rule them out right now if they can make it."
The only change sees London Wasps flanker Johnny O'Connor winning his third cap, replacing Denis Leamy.
"I had always had Johnny in mind for Scotland. We need a `groundhog', and Johnny is exactly that. Denis had a solid game against Italy – but he didn't make the impact he would have liked to," said O'Sullivan.
Saturday will also see Leinster lock Malcolm O'Kelly earn his 70th cap to become Ireland's most capped player ahead of legendary centre Mike Gibson.
Ireland team: 15 Geordan Murphy (Leicester/ENG); 14 Shane Horgan (Leinster), 13 Brian O'Driscoll (Leinster, capt), 12 Gordon D'Arcy (Leinster), 11 Denis Hickie (Leinster); 10 Ronan O'Gara (Munster), 9 Peter Stringer (Munster); 1 Reggie Corrigan (Leinster), 2 Shane Byrne (Leinster), 3 John
Hayes (Munster), 4 Malcolm O'Kelly, 5 Paul O'Connell (Munster), 6 Simon Easterby (Llanelli), 7 Johnny O'Connor (Wasps), 8 Anthony Foley (Munster).
Replacements: Frank Sheahan (Munster), Marcus Horan (Munster), Donncha O'Callaghan (Munster), Eric Miller (Leinster), Guy Easterby (Leinster), David Humphreys (Ulster), Girvan Dempsey (Leinster).
Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan has named captain Brian O'Driscoll and his centre partner Gordon D'Arcy in the side to play Scotland in the Six Nations on Saturday.
Both were in doubt after they limped off in last weekend's 28-17 win over Italy with hamstring injuries, and after scans on Monday night, the diagnosis was not as severe as first thought.
Despite O'Sullivan's optimism, the next 24 hours will be crucial for both centres to respond to treatment, with the option of Kevin Maggs an obvious replacement at centre, and winger Shane Horgan, who performed so well at centre against South Africa, another option.
"Brian and Gordon came through their scans last night, and it looks as if things aren't as bad as we originally thought," said O'Sullivan.
"There is no doubting as to how important their fitness is to us. We'll just have to wait and see how they progress over the next few days, and then we'll be in a position to make a decision."
"The Italian match was just two days ago, so with a six-day turnaround for the Scotland trip you have to give the guys every chance to fully recover. I would be a foolish man to rule them out right now if they can make it."
The only change sees London Wasps flanker Johnny O'Connor winning his third cap, replacing Denis Leamy.
"I had always had Johnny in mind for Scotland. We need a `groundhog', and Johnny is exactly that. Denis had a solid game against Italy – but he didn't make the impact he would have liked to," said O'Sullivan.
Saturday will also see Leinster lock Malcolm O'Kelly earn his 70th cap to become Ireland's most capped player ahead of legendary centre Mike Gibson.
Ireland team: 15 Geordan Murphy (Leicester/ENG); 14 Shane Horgan (Leinster), 13 Brian O'Driscoll (Leinster, capt), 12 Gordon D'Arcy (Leinster), 11 Denis Hickie (Leinster); 10 Ronan O'Gara (Munster), 9 Peter Stringer (Munster); 1 Reggie Corrigan (Leinster), 2 Shane Byrne (Leinster), 3 John
Hayes (Munster), 4 Malcolm O'Kelly, 5 Paul O'Connell (Munster), 6 Simon Easterby (Llanelli), 7 Johnny O'Connor (Wasps), 8 Anthony Foley (Munster).
Replacements: Frank Sheahan (Munster), Marcus Horan (Munster), Donncha O'Callaghan (Munster), Eric Miller (Leinster), Guy Easterby (Leinster), David Humphreys (Ulster), Girvan Dempsey (Leinster).