RUGBY WORLD CUP: The rugby itself can't come quick enough. After a month's enforced idleness for everyone, in which time fretting about squad selections has finally started to give way to opening-team announcements, it seems as if the build-up has lasted forever.

However, we should be wary of expecting too much. The mixture of rustiness and anxiety is not necessarily conducive to explosive starts, as Declan Kidney has intimated.

"All sides are coming from a background where they haven't been able to play a match for four weeks beforehand," the assistant coach warned yesterday.

"So there's a lot of anxiety, as Eddie (O'Sullivan) said, within the camp and fellas are going to have to keep that under control, but that's going to be the same for all teams.

"I think if you look at any World Cup, be it football or rugby, the first round (of matches) can be a small bit hit or miss but we're hoping to hit. We'll just have to wait and see but that's our aim."

There was a discernible shift in mood yesterday as the team to play Romania on Saturday morning was named. Tuesday being Tuesday in a Six Nations-type week, "Breakfast was probably the quietest breakfast we've had in a couple of weeks," revealed Keith Gleeson.

"Teams are always announced on Tuesday mornings and not much gets said beforehand."

At the ensuing open session in the leafy and spacious surrounds of the Central Coast Grammar School, there was a determinedly businesslike mood as well. Nevertheless, there was an almost mandatory mixture of footballs and rugby balls, as well as a hurley and a sliothar, to befuddle the array of Australian television and print media in attendance.

"There's a sense of relief now that the team has been named and this is the line-up that's going into the first game, but with that comes pressure," commented O'Sullivan.

"So the sense of pressure is all on the guys who've been picked now to deliver a performance. They're the lucky 15 at the moment and it's a funny mixture.

"It's the first game of the World Cup so there's a lot of emotion there on top of a lot of hard work."

As the sun finally shone through the tall windows of the team's Terrigal hideaway, and fielding questions at a much more sizeable press conference, O'Sullivan's himself seemed a good deal chipper.

When it was put to him that the build-up has seemed interminable he interjected, "Believe me it's been like that for me too."

But he readily volunteered that henceforth keeping all the squad focused and in harmony remains a key task for the management, for as was evidenced on the Lions tour, that can be lost amid the focus on the starting team.

"It's the people business we are in, whether it's a company or a rugby team, it's pretty much the same. You've got to get everybody rowing the boat in the same direction, and have the same goals and aspirations," he said.

"It's something within an Irish rugby team that you never have to work too hard at, to be honest with you. In my experience of Irish rugby teams, whether it's going well or it's not going well, everybody puts their shoulder to the wheel and gets on with it.

"It's a good ship at the moment. Everybody's working hard, and all I can say is we'll give it our best shot, and we can't do any more than that."

The five changes to the starting team which completed the warm-up preparations with a fifth successive win over Scotland were predictable, and reflected a consistency in selection.

Girvan Dempsey replaces the absent Geordan Murphy at full back, Shane Horgan returns in place of his namesake, Anthony, for his first start since the win over Scotland in Murrayfield last February, and David Humphreys returns for Ronan O'Gara at outhalf.

In the back row, Victor Costello and Keith Gleeson return in place of David Wallace and Eric Miller.

As encouraging as Horgan's return on the wing is that of John Hayes addition to the replacement bench.

Hayes suffered no ill effects from taking part in his first scrummaging session since suffering a slightly torn calf six weeks ago to the day prior to the Italian game in Thomond Park.

Hayes is clearly being marked for a starting role against Namibia in readiness for Ireland's third game against the famed Pumas' scrum.

"It's different for forwards than it is for backs, particularly props and wingers - they would be from the opposite ends of the spectrum. There's a lot less grunt work on the wing than there is in the front row," said Kidney.

Kidney also revealed that earlier in the season Horgan "was a bit worried that he had fallen out of some of the patterns or some of the moves we were trying to do. He's like any player coming back into it who's been out for a while. He brings a freshness into it and that's always good.

"I think the boys were pretty pleased when John Hayes hit the scrummaging machine as well, it always helps. Shane has always played well in internationals so they're all positives to bring into the side."

There remains a slight concern over nominated loosehead Marcus Horan, who sat out yesterday's session due to the slightly-strained quadricep he sustained in training on Monday.

As a result, Simon Best packed down at tighthead in the scrum, and then switched over to the loosehead side when Hayes was brought in. In a notable aside, Ireland's record try-scorer Denis Hickie will equal Keith Crossan's Irish record for a wing of 41 Tests.

The tightest call in the 22 was possibly the replacement back rower, where Alan Quinlan was given the nod ahead of Eric Miller and Simon Easterby.

"Yeah, in a word it is. We have many options there because we have an embarrassment of riches in that area. So there was quite a bit of discussion about the back row, but no matter what cover we had for the back row we've a very strong line-up. It's a good place to be."

Miller hobbled out of yesterday's session after going over on his ankles but, according to O'Sullivan, he could play at the weekend if he had been required.

A special guest with the Irish team yesterday was 17-year-old Terrigal Gary Pearce, who is suffering from cancer in his jaw and will shortly undergo an operation. Pearce was presented with an Ireland jersey by O'Sullivan and Keith Wood and attended the training session and ensuing press conference with his parents.

Ireland (v Romania) Saturday, Kick-off: 8 a.m.