Balanced back row will shore up defence

A no news day is a good day for in the Irish camp. No one was hurt and, indeed, so productive was yesterday morning's session that coach Brian Ashton extended it to over two hours and then gave his players the afternoon off, for good behaviour as it were.

A University of Limerick side provided mostly non-contact opposition as the Irish team concentrated on their defensive organisation. A particular concern against Italy, and even against Canada, was the area in and around out-half. Both Gareth Rees and Diego Dominguez exploited this by using the blind side winger either as a decoy or an inside runner, and it's clear that the Irish team have sought to rectify this area.

The source of the problem was primarily the back-row, but here the recall of a genuine number six in David Corkery and a true open side in Kieron Dawson either side of Eric Miller looks altogether more balanced. The need for a defensive refresher course was intensified by a further three changes in personnel amongst the back-line, and one positional.

Remarkably, given that defence can usually take up to 50 per cent of a game (and in Ireland's case, often a good deal more), there seemed, in times past, comparatively little emphasis on defensive organisation on the training pitch.

But this was a productive session, which was rounded off by the Irish then going through some new ploys with the ball against their university opponents. Though no doubt mindful of the danger of extolling these sessions too much, Ashton declared himself "very happy" with the workout. The place-kickers, David Humphreys and Conor O'Shea, also did some practice in the afternoon.

In a break with previous custom this season, welcomed by the players themselves, the squad will have a further work-out at the Limerick NCTC today before departing for their base in the Killiney Castle Hotel, where the management will give their final press conference before Saturday's game.

Meanwhile, O'Shea is looking forward to his return to international action after recovering from the broken arm which kept him out of the pre-Christmas matches. "It's great to be back," he said. "I got a bad injury at the start of the year which put me out for six to eight weeks.

"It's marvellous to rejoin the lads and I'm looking forward to it immensely. It's been going well for me up to now and I hope I can play well.

"I'll just go out and give 100 per cent, as I always do. Hopefully, the breaks will come my way or I'll create some room for others."