Ireland, in serious need of a pick-me-up, entertain Romania at Lansdowne Road tonight hoping to find a new lease of life after their disappointing display against Australia.

The safety net of qualifying for the knockout stages as the best third-placed side having been removed, Ireland take on Romania in a win-or-bust Pool E finale with one eye on a possible play-off in Lens against, most probably, Samoa or Argentina.

Ireland manager Donal Lenihan may well be beginning to think that the fates are beginning to conspire against his side. As the team's confidence may have been dented by the scale of the defeat to Australia, the management gambled on resting up several of their key men. But then sod's law decreed that the suspension to Trevor Brennan was compounded by injuries to two other back row players.

David Corkery's cruel withdrawal from the squad due to his back injury, and Eric Miller's pulled hamstring in training last Tuesday, which rules him out of this game, have resulted in a back-row revamp.

Andy Ward is pressed into service as a blindside flanker, and Dion O'Cuinneagain (with an injury cloud hanging over him) comes back into a revamped back row alongside Kieron Dawson. Late call-up Alan Quinlan joins two other uncapped players on the bench.

The joke doing the rounds is that Lenihan decamped to Rome this week for a visit to the Pope, asking him to pray for Ireland. The pontiff politely declined, citing fatigue. Lenihan pleaded again and again, "please, just a little prayer". "Oh, a prayer," said the Papa, "I thought you were asking me to play."

Team coach Warren Gatland yesterday put a brave face on the disruption. "I don't think it's affected us. It's probably galvanised us. Bringing Dion and Andy Ward back has probably strengthened our side."

Nevertheless, Ward has to charter unfamiliar terrain. Occasional games on the blind side or at number eight with Ballynahinch in the less rarified environs of Division Two of the AIL hardly constitutes ideal preparation for tonight. Ward may well alternate with O'Cuinneagain, though the latter could probably have done with a rest.

The skipper has nonetheless also retained his good spirits. When requests for a quick interview with Quinlan were politely rejected during yesterday's press conference, O'Cuinneagain quick-wittedly conveyed the player's response: "He's overjoyed."

At least Ireland look to have a pretty strong and experienced tight five with which to front up to Romania, especially in the scrums with Peter Clohessy reinstated at tighthead, and Ross Nesdale is a respected pack leader.

It is worth noting, however, that this is Dawson's first Test since Brian Ashton's finale as Ireland coach against Scotland almost 20 months ago, and it is James Topping's first Test since that season as well. Then again, an infusion of hungry and fresh faces may be just what the doctor ordered.

There are, admittedly, also question marks about the form and confidence of the scrum-half, the out-half and the full back. And the team does not have the pace and creativity of Brian O'Driscoll to call on.

A disgruntled public will expect nothing less than a win, and while there might be a pining for some dynamism and pace to go with it, to begin with at any rate Ireland will need to get going from the off, with a solid kicking/stroking territorial game to establish a foothold.

Gatland yesterday publicly focused his attention on improved accuracy and an improved scrum. Even then, the need to retain that accuracy throughout is crucial, for the fitness levels of the Romanians seem to have stood up pretty well thus far, and they cut loose ominously in reducing a big lead to a final 53-35 margin last November in the qualifiers.

The visiting side come into this game at full strength, with the pressure to achieve completely removed by their win over the US. They can afford to shoot from the hip and no wonder, therefore, their chipper technical director from New Zealand, John Phillips, has upped the ante by hinting that Ireland's selectorial gamble was a bit of an insult.

Lenihan retorted by pointing out that 11 of the side involved against Australia are in tonight's starting line-up, while Gatland recognised Phillips's remarks for what they were, an attempt to motivate his own squad.

Somehow, you can't imagine that Romania will have the savvy or the resources to negate Ireland at source quite like the Wallabies did. And even if Ireland don't look as strong as they'd ideally want to be, they'll have the setpiece foundations, mauls, fitness levels and kicking game to carry the night, with maybe one or two moves to decorate the occasion.

That expectations generally won't be a whole lot greater than that may be no bad thing either. That's generally when Ireland don't disappoint.