Wolfhounds at the door as opportunity comes knocking

IT MIGHT be slightly misleading to suggest that the result is irrelevant because no side, least of all one sporting national team colours, will be ambivalent to the outcome. While the history books will record the winner and loser of this evening’s contest at the home of the Exeter Chiefs, of more interest in the short to medium term will be individual performances.

The Six Nations starts next weekend and for a handful of players on display an eye-catching performance could propel them into senior squad reckoning or possibly help to define a positional pecking order.

Ireland Wolfhounds’ coach Eric Elwood will have stressed to his team the importance of putting the team dynamic first rather than focusing on excelling as an individual. There is only so much that can be accomplished in preparing a team for an A international, given the timeframe and the constraints imposed by selection.

It’s why games of this ilk are such a useful exercise because there is a limited playbook and players are asked to adapt and problem solve on the pitch. In this environment good habits and good technique stand out.

Gavin Duffy and Isaac Boss provide the experience and probably direction in a young backline that has plenty of potential. Props Brett Wilkinson and young Stephen Archer are going to face a tough examination in the scrum.

Hooker Damien Varley has been in excellent form for Munster, while there is plenty of athletic ability in the back five.

It is a sector in which all the players feel they have the wherewithal to force their way into the Ireland senior squad. Mike McCarthy (Connacht) and Dan Tuohy (Ulster) have been standout players this season and can also play in the backrow, versatility that makes them valuable: Chris Henry and Rhys Ruddock also fit neatly into that category.

England coach Jonathan Callard has said his team will play an expansive, ball-in-hand game that Ireland are likely to adopt too. A high-tempo game would be more instructive in stress-testing skills and decision making. It’s a case of opportunity knocks all round.

IRISH WOLFHOUNDS: G Duffy (Connacht); D Kearney (Leinster), E O’Malley (Leinster), N Spence (Ulster), S Zebo (Munster); I Keatley (Munster), I Boss (Leinster); B Wilkinson (Connacht), D Varley (Munster), S Archer (Munster); D Tuohy (Ulster), M McCarthy (Connacht); J Muldoon (Connacht), C Henry (Ulster, capt), R Ruddock (Leinster). Replacements: M Sherry (Munster) R Loughney (Connacht), D Toner (Leinster), K McLaughlin (Leinster), T O’Leary (Munster), I Madigan (Leinster), D Hurley (Munster).

ENGLAND SAXONS: D Armitage (London Irish); U Monye (Harlequins), M Hopper (Harlequins), B Twelvetrees (Leicester Tigers), M Banahan (Bath); F Burns (Gloucester), B Spencer (Saracens); M Mullan (Worcester Warriors), J Gray (Harlequins); P Doran-Jones (Nthampton Saints), M Garvey (London Irish); G Robson (Harlequins), J Gaskell (Sale Sharks, capt), A Saull (Saracens), T Waldrom (Leicester Tigers). Replacements: C Brooker (Harlequins), R Harden (Gloucester), K Myall (Sale Sharks), T Johnson (Exeter Chiefs), P Hodgson (London Irish), R Lamb (Northampton Saints), J May (Gloucester).