Leading characters will play no part

RUGBY/Six Nations Championship, Ireland v Wales: Ireland's pack leader, Paul O'Connell, having been deemed hors de combat, the Mike Ruddock saga rumbled on after his meeting with the Welsh RFU board, only to be usurped by news of Gareth Thomas being ruled out for the remainder of the Six Nations, with Shane Williams also sidelined. Oh, and the celebrity centre Gavin Henson is back.

The pity is that two of the outstanding characters, leaders and players in these respective sides will not be taking to the Lansdowne Road pitch, and while he mightn't view it in this light himself, at least O'Connell's problems are mild compared to those of the unfortunate Thomas.

In keeping with the contradictory signals about O'Connell ever since he first played on with the strained AC/shoulder joint he sustained in Ireland's defeat to France last Saturday week, despite a positive official missive less than 24 hours before and an expressed intention to give him as much time as possible, the Munster lock was ruled out by lunchtime yesterday.

The official statement explaining O'Connell's unavailability read: "Despite having an encouraging period of rehabilitation last week, Paul O'Connell's shoulder has reacted to the next level of training and has not progressed sufficiently. As a result, O'Connell has been ruled out of consideration for the Wales game this weekend."

Ireland team doctor Gary O'Driscoll said, "Based on Paul's reaction in training today, we repeated the scan, which revealed that the shoulder has not healed to the extent we had anticipated. Paul will continue with his rehabilitation and we are confident that he will be available for the Scotland game."

Meanwhile, Shane Byrne has been added to the squad as precautionary cover for Jerry Flannery, who suffered an ankle strain in training.

In stark contrast to O'Connell, the unfortunate Thomas has been ruled out for the rest of the Six Nations campaign after his much-publicised migraine attack, which was a shock not only to himself, his wife, Gemma, and his family, but also to the Welsh squad, public and game in general.

An MRI scan yesterday confirmed that Thomas's migraine attack on Sunday night - after an agitated television interview that had amply displayed his acutely stressed state since the controversial departure of Ruddock - had resulted from blocked blood vessels in his neck.

The Toulouse-based Welsh captain has been ruled out for 10 to 12 weeks but inevitably the episode has raised fears the condition might even threaten the 32-year-old's career, and not just his season.

"Is this the end for Alfie?" the back page of the Western Mail wondered aloud this morning, and in an interview with HTV Thomas apparently looked a broken man.

"The biggest thing is that I don't want my wife and family to be worried about me. The boys in the team are so special to me but nothing is as important as my family," he said.

And in maintaining he would only play if 100 per cent fit, he added, "I haven't got the fight in me at the moment. I'm struggling to get out of bed every morning."

There's a general perception that Ruddock was at least in part forced out by so-called player power, and was undermined by both his assistant/successor Scott Johnson and the Welsh RFU.

This also comes with a feeling that last season's success may have gone to the players' heads. But Thomas is no rock star, a la Henson.

The Llanelli duo of Lee Byrne and Dafydd James replace Thomas and Shane Williams (dead leg), while Henson has been restored to the bench after his 51-day suspension, with Johnson certainly talking the talk after announcing his first selection as Welsh coach.

"Tough times breed tough men and we are taking a tough team to Dublin to play tough rugby," added Johnson. "We are going to look squarely in the face of adversity and show a different side to our characters this weekend. We've shown that we can turn on the pretty stuff - now we are going to show our true heart, make Welsh fans proud of us and proud to be Welsh and come out fighting."