Ireland squad v New Zealand: Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan has pruned his squad to 24 for the first of the autumn internationals, against the All Blacks at Lansdowne Road on November 12th.
O'Sullivan had initially intended to limit his squad to 22 but has kept a couple of options open given fitness concerns over Shane Horgan and Simon Easterby.
With three of Ireland's 11 Lions - Brian O'Driscoll, Denis Hickie and Paul O'Connell - already on a lengthy injury list, the loss of two more in Easterby and Horgan would leave the team looking decidedly callow against the reigning Tri-Nations champions and world's top-ranked side, who play Wales in Cardiff this Saturday.
"We have two main injury concerns at the moment in Shane Horgan and Simon Easterby," O'Sullivan was quoted in a release yesterday, "so we have named 24 in the squad to allow them as much time as possible to prove their fitness before we name our team next week. Shane Horgan picked up a shoulder knock playing in the Heineken Cup last weekend, but we are optimistic that he will be fit to play."
Easterby, who has been sidelined since sustaining a broken nose when leading Llanelli away to Toulouse last Saturday week, must be the bigger doubt.
Although John Hayes's fitness was not mentioned yesterday, the knee injury that prevented "The Bull" from training last week and limited him to 55 minutes against Castres must also be a concern.
The team and replacements to face New Zealand will be named next Tuesday, and O'Sullivan added: "Training has gone well over the last week, and the new faces in the squad have fitted in very well. The other players who have been released will come back into the equation for the games against Australia and Romania."
The uncapped Ulster trio of Neil Best, Rory Best and Andrew Trimble have been retained in the squad after O'Sullivan decided to omit four current Leinster players - Reggie Corrigan, Jamie Heaslip, Robert Kearney and Kieran Lewis - as well as the former Leinster duo of Leo Cullen and David Quinlan, who both started Ireland's last Test, in Tokyo in June.
More surprisingly, the dynamic Munster backrow David Wallace, also a try-scorer in Tokyo, has been omitted - but then he must almost be used to disappointments like this.
Indeed, with Munster and Ulster each having eight in the current enlarged squad, and Leinster's representation down to four, it is not inconceivable the replacements' bench might be made up entirely of Ulster men.
Presuming O'Sullivan will be more inclined to go with tried and trusted combinations where possible, a frontrow of Marcus Horan, Shane Byrne and Hayes looks probable, with Donncha O'Callaghan and Malcolm O'Kelly (Leinster's only forward in the squad) in the second row.
If fit, Easterby would most likely line up alongside Anthony Foley and Johnny O'Connor in a backrow unit that played virtually en bloc throughout last season. Indeed, save for Horan usurping the demoted Corrigan and Donncha O'Callaghan replacing the injured O'Connell, it would be the same pack that played against South Africa, Argentina, Scotland, England, France and Wales last season.
Likewise, the Peter Stringer-Ronan O'Gara halfback partnership was ever present last season, save for the USA Eagles games. And in the absence of O'Driscoll, the obvious option would appear to be the Leinster midfield axis of Horgan, if fit, and the fit-again Gordon D'Arcy, whose only appearance for Ireland last season was curtailed to the first 33 minutes in Rome. The likeliest outside-three permutation would be Geordan Murphy, Girvan Dempsey and Tommy Bowe.
This would mean a replacements' bench reading something like this: Rory Best, Simon Best, Matt McCullough, Neil Best or Denis Leamy, Kieran Campbell, David Humphreys, and Andrew Trimble or Anthony Horgan.
If, however, Easterby were ruled out, and with Alan Quinlan and Eric Miller out through injury and Wallace omitted, O'Sullivan would be obliged to start the uncapped Neil Best against the All Blacks or play Leamy at blindside flanker, where he started the second Test in Japan alongside Wallace and Miller.
Either way, it wouldn't be the tallest or quickest backrow Ireland have ever fielded. Similarly, if Horgan were deemed hors de combat, there seems little viable alternative to blooding the 21-year-old Trimble.
In the absence of O'Driscoll and O'Connell, with Humphreys likely to be on the bench and Corrigan omitted, O'Sullivan must also decide upon a new captain. Foley, the resident Munster captain, has led his country on three occasions and looks the obvious candidate, although O'Sullivan has overlooked his credentials in the past, while Easterby captains Llanelli. O'Gara, vice-captain in the past, could be another option.
Despite O'Sullivan's olive branch, yesterday's omissions will be especially disappointing for Corrigan, who will be 35 when Ireland play Australia on Saturday fortnight. Corrigan has effectively been an ever-present since regaining his place in the Irish team on the tour of New Zealand over three years ago, playing in 36 of Ireland's last 41 matches.
Sidelined for three games in the 2003 Six Nations campaign with a broken wrist, Corrigan returned to captain the side in Tonga and Samoa that summer, since when he was rested for a World Cup pool qualifier against Namibia and last autumn's Test against the USA Eagles. But reports of his demise may yet prove premature.
NOT CONSIDERED BECAUSE OF INJURY: Guy Easterby (Leinster), Denis Hickie (Leinster), Eric Miller (Leinster), Paul O'Connell (Munster), Brian O'Driscoll (Leinster), Alan Quinlan (Munster), Frankie Sheahan (Munster).
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