Blustery conditions greeted the Irish squad on arrival at King's Hospital yesterday as they knuckled down to the second of a three-day training stint.
National coach Warren Gatland professed himself satisfied with the session, intimating that the reduced numbers - the injury list is still lengthening - ensured that all the players were kept fully occupied. Equally productive on the sideline was the overworked medical team led by team doctor Donal O'Shaughnessy, ministering to the hobbling wounded.
Alan Quinlan (knee), Paul Wallace (haematoma), Trevor Brennan (sundry bruises), David Humphreys (ankle) and Victor Costello (ribs) took no part while Eric Elwood (knee), Paddy Johns (knee) and Jeremy Davidson (facial injury) managed contributions of varying lengths.
The severity of the damage may be gauged from those who will and won't play at the weekend. Costello and Brennan will not travel with Leinster to France for their European Cup clash with Begles Bordeaux, but Humphreys and Quinlan should be available to Ulster and Munster respectively.
Leinster have been ravaged by injury. Joining Costello and Brennan on the absentee list for France is John McWeeney (eye) and Derek Hegarty (collar bone). There are further doubts surrounding the fitness of Shane Horgan (dead leg) and Brian Carey who limped out of the Munster defeat with a knee problem.
This compounds an already serious shortcoming in terms of healthy centres in province. Martin Ridge, Brian O'Driscoll, Dermot O'Sullivan, Gareth Gannon and Gareth Earley are all injured. Under-19 World Cup winning captain Shane Moore may receive a call-up or there could be a surprise recall for Kurt McQuilkin.
Leinster coach Mike Ruddock is philosophical about the catalogue of injuries. "It's disappointing to lose players, but it is just one of those things. Whoever comes in will be fresh and I will be looking forward to seeing them play." He will announce a squad for the Begles match later today.
Newly-crowned inter-provincial champions Munster will announce a team for their clash with Perpignan at Thomond Park on Saturday.
Anthony Horgan, who missed the Leinster match, has recovered from a shoulder injury while Quinlan (knee), Rhys Ellison (stitches) and Brian Roche (ankle) are expected to be available.
The backdrop to what promises to be a pulsating encounter at the newly-refurbished Thomond Park is the 20 year anniversary of Munster's victory over New Zealand. Coach Declan Kidney is adamant that his players will not be distracted.
"I don't think the players will feel any additional pressure other than a desire to ensure a double celebration on the day. It was a fantastic achievement in beating the All Blacks, but for the current players Saturday is all about beating Perpignan and perhaps creating a little history of our own in reaching the knockout stages.
"Perpignan are a very good side, the best we have faced in my time in charge. They play as a team, which is always more difficult than playing against 15 good individuals. The fact that they are coming in on Friday, unlike some of the other French sides, underlines how seriously they are taking the game."
The quarter-finalists will be graded according to finishing positions in the respective groups, points accumulated and then points differential to discern a ranking from one to eight. One would then play eight, two play seven and so on.
Ulster have named a side with just one change from the team which beat Connacht, Tony McWhirter comes in for the ineligible Eric Miller. Derek Topping comes into the replacements.
Eric Elwood may return for Connacht following a prolonged absence because of medial ligament damage to a knee. Fortunately his early departure yesterday was as a result of a blow to his "good" knee and was not deemed serious.
Connacht coach Glenn Ross will wait until Elwood returns to Galway before making a decision on who will wear the number 10 jersey for Saturday's European Shield match against Caerphilly in Wales.
Junior Charlie (groin), Mervyn Murphy (ear infection) and Martin Cahill (ankle) are nursing injuries but are expected to recover in time. Shane McEntee is available after missing the Ulster defeat because of a wedding. Ross will name his team tomorrow.
The Ireland squad will convene in Cork next Monday and Tuesday, training at the Mardyke and Ballincollig respectively. After this two-day stint, the 29-man squad will be reduced to 24 for Ireland's two World Cup qualifiers against Romania and Georgia next month.
Ulster: S Mason; J Topping, J Bell, C van Rensburg, J Cunningham; D Humphreys (capt), S Bell; J Fitzpatrick, A Clarke, R Irwin; M Blair, G Longwell; S McKinty, T McWhirter, A Ward. Replacements: S Coulter, A park, A Matchett, R Weir, G Leslie, D Topping, S Duncan.
Japan routed Taiwan 134-6 in an Asian zone Group A qualifier yesterday to move within sight of a berth in next year's Rugby World Cup.
It was the third highest score recorded in a World Cup qualifier and Japan's second highest win in an international. Their previous best was 141-10 over Thailand in the 1996 Asian championships.
