Their time together in the Ireland team may have been limited to just 15 prior appearances but Keith Earls and Luke Fitzgerald will be delighted if tomorrow’s meeting with Canada goes as well as their first joint-venture against the Canucks.

Keith Earls:

Just imagine for a second if Ireland had managed to close out that agonising end game against New Zealand last November.

Goodbyes can be painful, as we all know, but when Brian O’Driscoll’s romance with Test rugby finally came to an end in Paris, parting proved such sweet sorrow.

There is much to be said for the power of positive thinking and so upbeat is Scott Johnson in his approach to solving Scottish rugby’s problems that 15 minutes in his company would convince anyone of his side’s potential for success.

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The French Rugby Federation is on a collision course with clubs from the Aviva Premiership and Top 14 as the dispute over the future of the Heineken Cup continued to escalate.

No wonder even the likes of Brian O’Driscoll are being kept on their toes as the battle for Test places against Australia intensifies.

Yesterday’s statement by the IRFU thanked Declan Kidney’s “unquestionable commitment, passion, professionalism and success he has delivered to Irish Rugby to date”.

The 2013 Six Nations came to an end for Ireland with a whimper in Rome, a far cry from the stunning first half against eventual champions Wales just six short weeks before.

Italy Women 3 Ireland Women 6

Conor O’Shea has questioned whether Ireland’s players will look to Brian O’Driscoll rather than new captain Jamie Heaslip for leadership when the pressure is at its greatest.

The Six Nations hasn’t compared favourably in terms of quality with the Heineken Cup in recent years.

Ireland have started their 2013 Six Nations campaign against Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

By Ian Cusack

Rory Best is confident Ireland’s younger generation of rugby stars will have no difficulty coping with life without Brian O’Driscoll who has all but admitted the 2013 Six Nations will be the last campaign in which he wears the green jersey.

Paul O’Connell has set his sights on a return to action in early April after the lock underwent surgery in Dublin yesterday to correct a back injury.

Ireland may have to cope without influential lock Paul O’Connell in the 2013 Six Nations with the Limerick man poised to undergo surgery to correct a back problem.

Ireland head coach Declan Kidney saw his team rebound from five straight Test defeats and admitted that in his “manic” job you had to be “off your head” to cope with the highs and lows of Test rugby.

Warren Gatland’s appointment as head coach of the 2013 British and Irish Lions is set to be confirmed on September 4, its understood.

DECLAN KIDNEY, Warren Gatland and Andy Robinson will all effectively be on trial during the forthcoming Six Nations to be head coach of the 2013 British and Irish Lions.