A INTERNATIONAL PREVIEW Ireland Wolfhounds v Scotland A: THERE'S A new breed of Ireland rugby player on display tonight and the home supporters will be hoping that they display the characteristics of the dog in question after which the shadow national side has been rebranded; powerful, athletic and indomitable.
There would have been widespread disappointment in the wake of last week’s defeat to a youngish England Saxons team in Bath, not as much with regard to the attitude and commitment but in terms of exploiting a surfeit of possession.
The Ireland team dominated territorially, particularly in the second half and having clawed their way back to just a single point behind at 14-13 seemed poised to kick on and win the contest. This expectation was dashed by a lack of precision and some iffy decision making.
Composure was missing on half a dozen occasions, players snatching at and spilling passes in failing to execute basic handling skills. In the end Irish players were left to reflect on what might have been, tantalised by the realisation of an opportunity lost.
No one managed a blemish free afternoon but several individuals stood out including Gavin Duffy, Seán O’Brien, Shane Jennings, Tony Buckley, Marcus Horan and Connacht wing Fionn Carr. He made a couple of superb breaks, showcasing a step and raw pace, as well as making a brace of try-saving tackles, one on England wing Noah Cato particularly impressive. He wasn’t immune to error but the positives outweighed the odd blip.
A late replacement in the Saxons game for the unavailable Johne Murphy he is most unfortunate to lose out on playing tonight – he is not in the match squad – as the Leicester Tigers wing returns. This is not a reflection on Murphy, who deserves his chance. Ian Dowling is fortunate to retain his place on the left wing in what was an untypically error strewn performance.
Keith Matthews is also a little unlucky but it’ll be interesting to see how Fergus McFadden and Darren Cave gel once again in the centre. Both are ostensibly outside centres but they have been effective as a unit in the past.
Ian Humphreys gets a chance to run the game from the start as Paddy Wallace is with the senior squad. Peter Stringer will be hoping his pack provide cleaner ruck ball tonight as the last day having to dig it out led to several fumbles and atypically one or two poor decisions.
Seán Cronin joins Horan and Buckley in the frontrow, Ryan Caldwell starts in place of Mick O’Driscoll, who captained the side the last day, and Dan Tuohy and Chris Henry – the latter, a try scorer as a replacement the last day takes over the captaincy – are introduced to the backrow. John Muldoon didn’t do a great deal wrong but the two Ulster boys have excelled this season.
Scotland A head coach Seán Lineen is able to call upon two of last summer’s Lions in scrumhalf Mike Blair and tighthead prop Euan Murray in a team that also contains five uncapped players in Jim Thompson, Ruaridh Jackson, Jon Welsh, James Eddie and Roddy Grant.
The visitors will present a huge challenge physically – scrum, lineout and breakdown – but also possess plenty of footballing ability in the backline.
Ireland won’t be taking part in the Churchill Cup this season, a tournament they won last summer so for several players tonight the opportunity for promotion will be limited.
IRELAND WOLFHOUNDS: G Duffy (Galwegians/Connacht); J Murphy (Leicester), D Cave (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), F McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster), I Dowling (Shannon/Munster); I Humphreys (Ballymena/Ulster), P Stringer (Shannon/Munster); M Horan (Shannon/Munster), S Cronin (Buccaneers/Connacht), T Buckley (Shannon/Munster); R Caldwell (Dungannon/Ulster), D Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster); D Tuohy (Ballymena/Ulster), S Jennings (St Mary's College/Leinster), C Henry (Ballymena/Ulster). Replacements: N Brady (Dungannon/Ulster), M Ross (Clontarf/Leinster), E O'Donoghue (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), N Ronan (Shannon/Munster), I Boss (Ballymena/Ulster), I Keatley (Galwegians/Connacht), K Matthews (Buccaneers/Connacht).
SCOTLAND A: J Thompson (Edinburgh); N Walker (Ospreys), B Cairns (Edinburgh), N De Luca (Edinburgh), S Danielli (Ulster); R Jackson (Glasgow Warriors), M Blair (Edinburgh, capt); J Welsh (Glasgow Warriors), D Hall (Glasgow Warriors), E Murray (Northampton Saints); S MacLeod (Edinburgh), J Hamilton (Edinburgh); J Eddie (Glasgow Warriors), R Grant (Edinburgh), S Gray (Northampton Saints). Replacements: A Kelly (Edinburgh), K Traynor (Edinburgh), C Hamilton (Edinburgh), F McKenzie (Edinburgh), G Laidlaw (Edinburgh), R Dewey (Glasgow Warriors), J Houston (Edinburgh).
Referee: P Gauzere(France)
