RUGBY:For some, the need to hit the ground running at the start of the 2007-2008 campaign this Saturday in Murrayfield will be much more pressing than for others.

This is their final trial, whereas for others it's more a chance to dust off some cobwebs. But, despite the relatively unfamiliarity of most of the combinations, as ever, the stronger the collective effort the better it will serve their interests.

Basically, the three starting backrowers - Neil Best, Stephen Ferris and Jamie Heaslip - along with the two accommodated on the bench, Alan Quinlan and Keith Gleeson, appear to be competing for just two slots. That could rise to three positions if Quinlan is considered a viable option as a fourth lock in the World Cup, and significantly or not, Quinlan will be covering the secondrow in Edinburgh.

On the wings, Brian Carney and Tommy Bowe essentially face off for the last remaining slot among 14 backs.

Faced by a fairly strong Scottish selection, only two of the first-choice XV excused duty in Argentina over the summer start on Saturday, though they are by all accounts pretty useful: some blokes by the name of Paul O'Connell and Brian O'Driscoll.

The remainder are afforded the opportunity to throw down an early marker to challenge the other frontliners, who will be unveiled against Italy in Ravenhill on August 24th.

"Brian O'Driscoll hasn't played a game of rugby since March 17th and Paul O'Connell has had two games since March 10th; they're practically five months without a game so I think it's better to give them a chance to get in early doors because they haven't played for so long," said coach Eddie O'Sullivan.

The same logic did not apply to Peter Stringer, who hasn't played since March 30th, because "Peter is the kind of player that can come back very quickly. He doesn't need a lot of match time to be firing on all cylinders".

Last week O'Sullivan cited "the back five" of the pack, along with the back three of the backs, as the two areas of the 30-man World Cup squad to be resolved. But despite retaining six locks as well as eight backrowers in the squad trimmed to 37 this week, he signalled yesterday he had made his mind up about the secondrows.

"I have a pretty good headset for the secondrow. I wish I had the same headset around the backrow, so carrying two backrowers on the bench into the game is a chance to give those players a chance to play and Alan (Quinlan) will cover the secondrow if needs be."

This selection will have assuredly disappointed Leo Cullen, Mick O'Driscoll and Trevor Hogan. At least two of them won't make the cut come Sunday morning, and they'll feel they won't have been granted much of a chance to state their case. Cullen is the dark horse, and Hogan has apparently been tearing up trees in camp, but given his greater experience of switching to the backrow, O'Driscoll would appear to be the favourite unless Quinlan fulfils a dual brief.

As for the ridiculously competitive backrow, the odds against Keith Gleeson may have lengthened, given O'Sullivan reckons that, in addition to David Wallace, Ferris and Denis Leamy could play at seven if needs be. Adding that "a different headset" is now required for openside, he said, "An out-and-out openside, with the best will in the world, can only get to every second ruck."

Although O'Sullivan saw Ferris more as a number six/eight, a good performance at openside on Saturday would underline his versatility and therefore enhance his chances of selection, especially if there are only five backrowers in the squad.

Confirming he was "99 per cent sure" he would prefer a 16-14 split, O'Sullivan reasoned that "with the backs particularly you've got a lot of fast-twitch athletes who tend to pick up niggles. That might keep them out of the World Cup for eight or 10 days and if you have a couple of those you're struggling."

Ironically though, this will serve to further reduce his options and heighten the load on the area where Irish rugby is, once again, strongest.

It would also appear that Geordan Murphy, who cruelly sustained a broken leg in the corresponding fixture four years ago, has to remind the coach of his undoubted credentials, having fallen a little out of favour after missed tackles against Wales and France in the Six Nations.

"I think Geordan could do with a good game at fullback; he hasn't really featured that much for us all year. I'd like to see him get a game under his belt and maybe get his confidence back at fullback, which maybe this year he struggled a bit with when he didn't make the Six Nations starting 15."

That said, O'Sullivan did remind us that, "as a very talented player", Murphy also would be covering outhalf, a factor which will surely ensure his inclusion in the squad come Sunday morning.

The possibility of Saturday's encounter being something of a grudge match after the Irish coach's allegations a Scottish player had sought to choke Ronan O'Gara when the sides last met was dismissed by O'Sullivan: "I've forgotten about it actually, to be honest with you. It's five months ago now; everyone has moved on. It's an interesting angle for a newspaper to play. At the time, we weren't happy and neither were they, but it's done and dusted, and I can't imagine they're wasting their time on it either. They have more pressing issues to get on with it."