More wounded than walking

The College of Surgeons could have decamped to the ALSAA Complex yesterday and enjoyed enough case studies to occupy the trainee doctors for a week.

The Ireland rugby squad, or at least what was left of it after being struck by injury, underwent morning and afternoon sessions on a sodden surface under the guidance of coach Warren Gatland and his assistant Eddie O'Sullivan.

Twenty players either did not train or did not travel to the Aer Lingus training grounds - over 12 picked up injuries in Saturday's club matches. Ireland team manager Brian O'Brien confirmed that 57 players had been contacted regarding their availability and that just about guaranteed enough able bodied combatants to produce worthwhile training conditions. Three players, Martin Cahill (Buccaneers), Simon Best (Belfast Harlequins) and Brad Free (Ballymena), took up their invitations to attend, having not being named in the original training squad.

The most serious casualty from the club fare was Young Munster centre and try scorer against St Mary's College Mike Mullins, who suffered a fractured jaw in that match. He was operated on yesterday, had a plate inserted and will be out of action for four weeks.

St Mary's second row Malcolm O'Kelly and Blackrock centre Brian O'Driscoll trained with the squad in the morning before leaving to link up with the Barbarians squad for next Sunday's match against South Africa in the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. Ballynahinch flanker Andy Ward has also been named in the Barbarians squad.

Ireland captain Keith Wood took no part, although he was present. He sustained a chest injury against South Africa and had a scan in Dublin yesterday. The results are expected today but severe bruising was the prognosis.

Rob Henderson underwent shoulder surgery at the weekend and is expected to be out of commission for four weeks. London Irish flanker Kieron Dawson has sought a second opinion on his neck problem. He was initially ruled out for four months but has decided to wait two weeks before deciding whether to go ahead with an operation.

Llanelli flanker Simon Easterby suffered a training setback to his Achilles tendon problem and this has necessitated a second bout of surgery.

On a more positive note was the presence of former Natal Super 12 and current Swansea player Shaun Payne (28) who qualifies to represent Ireland through a grandparent. Gatland enthused: "I thought he did well, his handling was very good in difficult conditions. The next step is to look at him in a match environment."

List of ailments

Emmet Byrne (back), Eric Miller (flu), Anthony Foley (clavicle), Marcus Horan (hip), David Wallace (hand), Andy Ward (flu), Gary Longwell (shoulder), Justin Fitzpatrick (foot), Justin Bishop (not available), Rob Henderson (shoulder), Kevin Maggs (ribs), Matt Mostyn (torn hamstring), Denis Hickie (foot), Shane Horgan (neck), Gordon D'Arcy (ankle), Mike Mullins (jaw), Peter Stringer (neck), Tom Tierney (groin), Anthony Horgan (ribs), David Humphreys (ankle), Jonathan Bell (hamstring), Kieron Dawson (neck), Simon Easterby (Achilles), Paul Wallace (groin), Jeremy Davidson (wrist), Paul Burke (arm), Girvan Dempsey (ankle), Emmet Farrell (knee), Guy Easterby (leg), Tyrone Howe (groin).