RUGBY:TOMÁS O'LEARY, Gavin Duffy and, somewhat surprisingly, Kevin McLaughlin evidently did enough in the Wolfhounds 32-13 defeat to Scotland A last Friday to be considered for full national selection when Ireland face Italy in Rome next Saturday.
Leinster tighthead prop Mike Ross will also feature in the 22 as only three props have been retained in the 26-man squad released by Ireland coach Declan Kidney last night.
Having solidified the Leinster scrum of late, Ross has climbed from fourth-choice tighthead behind Tom Court, Tony Buckley and John Hayes. Buckley also featured for the Wolfhounds on Friday, for 40 minutes, but was not recalled, while Hayes has a torn groin muscle.
From the initial 30-man Six Nations squad selected on January 19th, Mike McCarthy and Peter Stringer have not been retained. Scrumhalf will be between O’Leary and Eoin Reddan when Kidney announces his team at lunchtime tomorrow.
McLaughlin’s promotion is to provide cover for Stephen Ferris, after the Ulster flanker was ruled out over the weekend due to cartilage damage to his knee sustained against Aironi nine days ago.
Ferris does not require an operation and will be reassessed before France come to Dublin on February 13th but the Scottish game in Murrayfield on February 27th looks a more realistic target. There is a similar prognosis for Jamie Heaslip’s ankle.
McLaughlin joins three fellow Leinster men – Seán O’Brien, Shane Jennings and Rhys Ruddock – along with Munster’s David Wallace and Denis Leamy as the backrow contenders.
Connacht’s Gavin Duffy remains the front runner to replace the injured Rob Kearney and Geordan Murphy at fullback after getting an opportunity to impress against Scotland A. That means Luke Fitzgerald and Keith Earls are poised for the wings.
Ulster captain Rory Best remains in contention to start at hooker despite a rib injury. Seán Cronin is the other hooker in the shortened squad as Jerry Flannery (calf) is out for a few more weeks.
The 2.30pm kick-off for the Italian match on Saturday is a direct clash with a full list of All-Ireland League fixtures.
IRELAND SQUAD: R Best (Ulster), S Cronin (Connacht), T Court (Ulster), L Cullen (Leinster), G Duffy (Connacht), G D’Arcy (Leinster), K Earls (Munster), L Fitzgerald (Leinster), C Healy (Leinster), S Jennings (Leinster), D Leamy (Munster), F McFadden (Leinster), K McLaughlin (Leinster), E Reddan (Leinster), M Ross (Leinster), R Ruddock (Leinster), J Sexton (Leinster), S O’Brien (Leinster), D O’Callaghan (Munster), P O’Connell (Munster), B O’Driscoll (Leinster), M O’Driscoll (Munster), R O’Gara (Munster), T O’Leary (Munster), D Wallace (Munster), P Wallace (Ulster).
