RUGBY: Paul Burke's withdrawal from the Ireland squad for Saturday's World Cup warm-up game against Wales with a hamstring injury highlights the relative dearth of cover at outhalf in the Irish set-up, and indeed the worry is what was once regarded as a conveyor belt has come chugging to a halt.
With Ronan O'Gara still recovering from the fractured scaffoid in his left wrist sustained in the June win over Samoa in Apia, and with neither Paddy Wallace nor Jeremy Staunton in the current 40-man squad, there is simply no outhalf cover for David Humphreys.
The Irish management will announce their replacement for Burke along with the starting XV and substitutes bench today. They could go outside the 40-man squad from which this 22 was picked.
Based on last season's A selections, Barry Everitt would be next in line, though Mark McHugh usurped him for the end-of-season trials and played at full back against Tonga. He looks the likeliest alternative from outside the squad, though there is still a strong lobby which regards Eric Elwood as the next best outhalf available anyway.
Alternatively, they could opt for the likes of Paddy Wallace, Jeremy Staunton or Irish under-21 World Cup outhalf Michael Rainey, especially with squad sessions in mind, but this seems unlikely, all the more so as Wallace is in Durban with the Ulster squad.
Theoretically, either Brian O'Meara or Neil Doak, who are vying for the third scrumhalf berth on the 30-man World Cup squad, could serve as an emergency third-choice outhalf in Australia. Both have played outhalf, O'Meara for Leinster and Doak for Ballymena.
With Doak still recovering from major surgery on the torn rotator cuff he sustained in the A international against France in March (though he hopes to be available for the Italy game on August 30th), the Irish management may simply promote O'Meara to the bench this week.
In any case, the lack of long-term planning vis-à-vis putative Irish number 10s will come home to roost. Thanks in part to the injuries or loss of form which have hit Emmet O'Farrell, Andy Dunne, Everitt and McHugh, Leinster are effectively in the midst of a seven-year strategy of playing foreign outhalves (Nathan Turner, Simon Broughton, Eddie Hekenui, Nathan Spooner, Christian Warner and now, on a four-year deal, Felipe Contepomi).
Some talented young outhalves have ended up with more game time at full back (Staunton, Wallace and McHugh). In Leinster's defence, they once pushed for Staunton, and arguably the IRFU should have lent their weight to the attempt.
Hence, come the day Humphreys retires, there may be no viable Test alternative to O'Gara. For the time being, Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan must be inclined to have them training on separate pitches, lest they run into each other.
Meanwhile, Connacht coach Michael Bradley has announced that Tim Allnutt will captain Connacht for the coming season. The 29-year-old also led the province last year before a serious knee injury terminated his season.
Backrower Matt Cockbain has left Australia's training camp with a suspected case of chicken pox, raising fears the rest of the squad might become infected, ahead of the Test against New Zealand in Auckland on Saturday, the final fixture of the annual Tri-Nations series.
The 30-year-old Queensland player, who was a member of Australia's 1999 World Cup-winning team, joined the Wallabies' training squad only last week.
