O'Driscoll's absence leaves void at the back

International news: As expected Brian O'Driscoll has been excused duty from the forthcoming tour of Australia, Tonga and Samoa, and with Keith Wood being brought along in a non-playing capacity, the Irish management will appoint a captain in advance of each of the three tests rather than for the duration of the tour.

However, it is O'Driscoll's absence as a player, through a hamstring injury, which leaves a far bigger void. Of course, it was always known that Ireland would struggle to come up with a ready made replacement for the team's talisman, but when his name is missing from a squad such as the 41 announced yesterday it reinforces the point in black and white.

The five named midfielders include four players who are primarily regarded as inside centres - namely Kevin Maggs, Rob Henderson, Jonathan Bell and David Quinlan.

Admittedly, Henderson has played outside centre sporadically, including in the Buenos Aires test three summers ago, while the squad's fifth centre, John Kelly, has played at outside centre occasionally for Munster as well as in both tests in New Zealand last summer, though he plays mostly on the wing.

Eddie O'Sullivan yesterday admitted that filling the number 13 jersey in all three tests will "be a challenge selection wise to try and get a combination, because our game is based a strong-running number 12 and an outside runner who can distribute at 13, and we don't have a solution as we stand. We may have to look at a slightly different gameplan if we didn't have Brian O'Driscoll at 13, and pick two big centres."

Not alone is Mike Mullins not being looked at against Tonga and Samoa, the Munster outside centre doesn't even make next Friday's "pre-summer tour Ireland National training match" in Thomond Park. Instead Kelly and Gavin Duffy will line up opposite each other.

O'Sullivan was quick to state that Mullins's omission was "purely a rugby thing. The guy hasn't done anything wrong, I can assure you of that. I know people might be a bit confused by it but I have to consider whether a player gives us our best option at 13 at test rugby level".

The Irish boss anticipates sending "a dozen players" home after the opening test in Perth on June 7th and for the remainder "it's a big chance to stake a claim for the World Cup. That's the motivation for them. And Tonga and Samoa will be full (strength) for those games".

In addition to O'Driscoll, Shane Horgan (torn thigh), John Hayes and Jeremy Staunton (both groin) also being given the time to rest and fully recuperate in time for the July pre-season camp in Poland, while Neil Doak and Justin Bishop are sidelined after shoulder and ankle operations.

Aidan McCullen misses out to eight test-capped back-rowers now that David Wallace is back in the frame, and perhaps as a six as well as a seven, prompting O'Sullivan to admit: "He is the guy I would feel sorriest for but when you look at the queue in front of him it's an embarrassment of riches. But we haven't travelled the full road yet to the World Cup and the guys who go to Tonga and Samoa will be under pressure to deliver, and especially in the back-row, because we won't be taking eight or nine back-rowers to the World Cup."

Indeed, in another time or another country, Trevor Brennan would easily muscle into a national list of top eight back-rowers, all the more so after giving the lie to the notion that he is merely an impact player with one of Europe's biggest clubs.

The skills and more accurate darts of Paul Shields over the bigger and more dynamic Bernard Jackman; Brian O'Meara has been chosen ahead of Brian O'Riordan, while the inclusion of Mark McHugh as a fourth outhalf ahead of Barry Everitt (or, dare one say it, Eric Elwood?) might raise a few more eyebrows.

Ireland play Australia in Perth on Saturday, June 7th, Tonga on Saturday, June 14th and Samoa on Friday, June 20th.

FORWARDS: S Best (Ulster - Belfast Harlequins), E Byrne (Leinster - St Mary's College), S Byrne (Leinster - Blackrock College), R Corrigan (Leinster - Greystones), L Cullen (Leinster - Blackrock College), V Costello (Leinster - St Mary's College), K Dawson (London Irish), S Easterby (Llanelli), J Fitzpatrick (Ulster - Dungannon), A Foley (Munster - Shannon), K Gleeson (Leinster - St Mary's College), M Horan (Munster - Shannon), G Longwell (Ulster - Ballymena), E Miller (Leinster - Terenure College), D O'Callaghan (Munster - Cork Constitution), P O'Connell (Munster - Young Munster), M O'Kelly (Leinster - St Mary's College), A Quinlan (Munster - Shannon), F Sheahan (Munster - Cork Constitution), P Shields (Ulster - Ballymena), D Wallace (Munster - Garryowen).

BACKS: J Bell (Ulster - Dungannon), P Burke (Harlequins), G D'Arcy (Leinster - Lansdowne),G Dempsey (Leinster - Terenure College), G Easterby (Llanelli), R Henderson (Munster - Young Munster),D Hickie (Leinster - St Mary's College), A Horgan (Munster - Cork Constitution), T Howe (Ulster - Dungannon), D Humphreys (Ulster - Dungannon), J Kelly (Munster - Cork Constitution), M McHugh (Connacht - St Mary's College), K Maggs (Bath), G Murphy (Leicester), R O'Gara (Munster - Cork Constitution), B O'Meara (Leinster - Cork Constitution), D Quinlan (Leinster - Blackrock College), P Stringer (Munster - Shannon), J Topping (Ulster - Ballymena), P Wallace (Ulster - Ballymena).

SUMMER TOUR TRAINING MATCH

Thomond Park, Friday, May 23rd (kick-off 5.30pm).

WHITES: Dempsey; D'Arcy, Kelly, Quinlan, Howe; McHugh, B O'Riordan (Leinster - UCD); Corrigan (capt), Sheahan, E Byrne, Longwell, O'Connell, Costello, Wallace, Miller . Replacements: B Jackman (Clontarf), M Cahill (Munster - Buccaneers), T Hogan (Shannon), A McCullen (Leinster - Lansdowne), K Campbell (Ulster - Dungannon), B Everitt (London Irish), M Mullins (Munster - Old Crescent).

COLOURS: P Wallace; Topping, G Duffy (Connacht - Galwegians), Henderson , D Hickie; O'Gara, O'Meara; Fitzpatrick , S Byrne, S Best , L Cullen , O'Kelly , Quinlan (Munster - Shannon), Gleeson, Foley (capt). Replacements: Shields, Horan, O'Callaghan, Dawson, E Reddan (Connacht - Old Crescent), B Cunningham (Ulster - Dungannon), Horgan.