Players get final chance to make call

RUGBY NEWS:FROM THE Irish management point of view, the announcement yesterday of the Ireland A squad to face England Saxons this weekend in Bath is a chance to chart progress and identify promise and form. In that respect little has changed, except this A team has an assembly of heavy hitters.

Some, like Andrew Trimble, are finding their cutting edge again, while others, like Rory Best, have just returned from injury.

Those on the fringe and some established players, feeling the hot breath of ambition on their shoulders, will want to impress, and with Ireland facing Italy in the opening weekend of the Six Nations Championship the following week, the match at the Recreation Ground will be the final chance players will have of making a call on the place of some of last season’s Grand Slam winners.

Ulster’s Trimble, who has hit a hot streak with the province, comes back into the international limelight after a season in the shadows, while Best, Marcus Horan and Denis Hurley have all recovered from respective injuries to be reintroduced to this level.

Best had an hour’s run at the weekend with Belfast Harlequins, while Horan has played with Shannon and lined out in the last 10 minutes for Munster in their final Heineken Cup pool match against Northampton.

Jerry Flannery, who is not included in this week’s travelling party after bruising a shoulder playing for Shannon, is expected to be available for selection next week when Declan Kidney picks the first Irish team of the year.

Hurley is also deemed fit to play after his late withdrawal from the Munster team with a calf injury before the Northampton match.

“There are a few guys who have not had much game time over Christmas,” said Irish team manager Paul McNaughton. “Marcus has had 60 to 70 minutes with Shannon, so he’s had about 120 minutes of club rugby and the last 10 minutes of the Munster game.

“Rory had about 60 minutes in a club game last week. He’d be expected to get game time (against Saxons). So, the A game is an opportunity for Marcus and Rory because they haven’t been playing for the last two or three months.”

Best has come back much faster than expected after injuring his neck getting out of a shower back in July. The last prognosis was that the Ulster hooker would not be available until May.

“It’s fair to say that it’s a pleasant surprise,” added McNaughton. “We didn’t expect him back so quickly. He’s made rapid progress and started to get contact in. He’s back ahead of schedule, which is good for us. Jerry has had game time, but bruised his shoulder and we weren’t going to risk him.”

The match-day starting team will be announced tomorrow, with Ulster’s recent rise pushing Darren Cave, Ian Humphreys, Ryan Caldwell and Paddy Wallace into contention.

Several, including the increasingly influential Ulster flanker Stephen Ferris, sat out the full Ireland squad training yesterday with a shin problem, as did secondrow Donncha O’Callaghan (knee) and Connacht hooker Seán Cronin (sprained ankle).

Ronan O’Gara, Gordon D’Arcy, Jonathan Sexton and Shane Horgan also took to the benches as precautionary measures. But the focus is on the opening game against Italy on Saturday week, and no player, other than the long-term injured such as Luke Fitzgerald have been discounted.

“Some say the match (against Italy) might be a given, but it represents their 10th anniversary (in the Six Nations),” said Ireland defensive coach Les Kiss.

“They had impressive periods in a couple of their games in November and we have to make sure we nail them. It’s very important to start well and the next game is only as important as we make it in the first one.

“We’ve spoken about the expectations, and externally they are going to be very high with calls for us to back up what we did last season. The bottom line is that if we put our best on the field, we will have a chance to win any game. If we prepare the way we did last year and approach good moments and the tough moments and improve in the few little areas, we’ll be in every game.”

IRELAND A SQUAD: R Best(Ballymena, Ulster); I Boss(Ballymena, Ulster), T Buckley(Shannon, Munster), D Cave(Belfast Harlequins, Ulster), R Caldwell(Dungannon, Ulster), I Dowling(Shannon, Munster), J Fogarty(DLSP, Leinster), M Horan(Shannon, Munster), I Humphreys(Ballymena, Ulster), D Hurley(Cork Constitution, Munster), S Jennings(St Mary's College, Leinster), K Matthews(Buccaneers, Munster), J Muldoon(Galwegians, Connacht), F McFadden(UCD, Leinster), J Murphy(Leicester), M O'Driscoll(Cork Constitution, Munster), S O'Brien(Clontarf, Leinster), N Ronan(Shannon, Munster), M Ross(Clontarf, Leinster), P Stringer(Shannon, Munster), D Toner(Lansdowne, Leinster), P Wallace(Ballymena, Ulster).