Match Details

Date: August 30th 2003
Venue: Thomund Park, Limerick
Kick off time: 2.00pm
Type: World Cup warm up
Television Details: I can't find coverage anywhere.

The Teams

Ireland Starting XV:
15. Girvan Dempsey - Leinster
14. John Kelly- Munster
13. Brian O'Driscoll - Leinster [captain]
12. Rob Henderson- Munster
11. Denis Hickie - Leinster
10. David Humphreys - Ulster
9. Guy Easterby - Rotherham [Zurich premiership]

1. Marcus Horan- Munster
2. Shane Byrne - Leinster
3. Reggie Corrigan - Leinster
4. Gary Longwell - Ulster
5. Leo Cullen - Leinster
6. Simon Easterby - Llanelli Scarlets [Welsh province]
7. Eric Miller - Leinster
8. Victor Costello- Leinster

Italy Starting XV
At the time of putting this up, I couldn't find a team selection for Italy on the rugby sites I frequent or on the ever-useful Ceefax. As I wanted to get this match preview up, I thought I'd leave it. The Italian team will be posted up as soon as I find them on the messageboard.

Replacements
Ireland: Justin Fitzpatrick (Castres), Keiron Dawson (London Irish - Zurich Premiership), Brian O'Meara (Leinster), Shields (Ulster), Donncha O'Callaghan (Munster), Murphy (Leinster), Bell (Ulster)

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Although being named in the original starting XV, Leinster's Shane Horgan has had to withdraw due to injury. Ronan O'Gara and Paul Burke are also missing due to injury, begging the question - what happens if David Humphreys gets injured? It'll be interesting to say the least. Denis Hickie was also unavailable for selection.

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Last Time Out

Ireland beat Wales 35-12 at Lansdowne Road in a World Cup warmup. Italy lost to Scotland 47-15 at Murrayfield in a World Cup warmup.

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Match Preview

Another interesting team selection from Eddie O'Sullivan. My first impression was that Geordan Murphy seems to have finally won his battle with Girvan Dempsey for the 15 shirt, Murphy being rested for this game after taking part in the almost full-team game against Wales. A good idea to rest your key players indeed - so why is Brian O'Driscoll in the team, and even more so, why is he captain? Just what he needs, I'm sure. However, having BOD in the Ireland team gives it a certain familiar look, and with Keith Wood absent - sensible, best not to push him too soon - the team needs that reassurance.

John Hayes [Munster] was originally named in the starting XV at tighthead prop, but has had to pull out due a calf injury. He is replaced by Leinster's Reggie Corrigan, usually a loosehead, who switches to the other side of the scrum for the game, having been rested from the 22 initially.

Rob Henderson returns to join up with O'Driscoll in the centre, a partnership that flourished on the Lions tour in 2001 - just ask the Australians about the two Irish centres! Denis Hickie is also fit whilst David Humphreys retains the fly-half shirt. Maybe I'm missing something, but is there - once again - no fly-half cover for DH? A bit of a gamble, but it is only a World Cup warmup. Victor Costello returns to the side from injury, and Shane Byrne takes over the number 2 jersey from Keith Wood.

Last time out, Ireland beat Italy - by a scoreline that escapes my memory - in Rome. After a shaky first half, where Ireland mixed the good with the pretty awful, they had a great second half and Italy were soundly beaten. I know very little about Italian rugby, but I do expect Ireland to win this game. It's also good to see that Ireland have managed to put out two different XV's. Not entirely different - Humphreys, O'Driscoll retain their starting positions - but there's different combinations.

One thing I would like to question - and now seems as good a time as any - is the scrum half situation in Irish rugby. Peter Stringer is reliable and a good - though not great player, but he has only retained his jersey because no one has come and ousted him. Guy Easterby is good enough to sit on the bench - but nothing more - and Brian O'Meara is a bit of a liability. Not one of the three scrum halves Eddie O'Sullivan has looked are World Class, and as reliable as Stringer is, you need a more attacking scrum half. He has tried to build this into his game, but his attacking the fringes still seems clumsy and predictable. Following the World Cup, EOS needs to look at this in more detail.

I predict an Irish win, a comfortable win, over the visiting Italians. However, I still can't see the reason Eddie O'Sullivan is selecting these teams with first XV players. Surely these should be experimental matches? Maybe this is something he will rue should the team be struck by injuries in the autumn, and something needs to be looked at in Ireland's strength and depth. It has gotten better, but it's not quite there yet. Vote on this issue in the new poll.

Good luck Ireland, and here's hoping there's no injuries to key players!

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