Ireland assistant coach Niall O'Donovan admitted it was wrench for the squad to leave Simon Best as they transferred from Bordeaux to Paris this afternoon.

Shane Horgan has been included in Ireland’s World Cup squad and will be given until the Georgia match on September 15 to prove his fitness.

Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery saw second half action as Shannon got the better of UCD at Thomond Park.

FOR a fourth successive season, Ireland goes into the final weekend of the Six Nations championship with tangible rewards on offer. This time the dream of capturing both the Triple Crown and championship are still alive.

GIVEN the number of times David Wallace has been left in the lurch, people have been wondering if there's some "history" between himself and Irish coach Eddie O'Sullivan.

The Ireland team to play Japan in the second test in Tokyo this Sunday shows four changes from the side that defeated Japan 44-12 in Osaka last weekend.

DAVID HUMPHREYS returned to training yesterday having recovered from a nasty facial injury sustained during Ireland’s opening test against Japan in Osaka on Sunday.

For the second week in a row, Ireland Coach Niall O'Donovan will be able to pick from a full strength squad for Ireland's second Test against Japan this Sunday, including Irish Captain David Humphreys who returned to training today.

The Irish team trained today in Osaka University just as Japan named their team for Sunday's first Test prior to the IRB deadline.

Ireland Coach Niall O'Donovan has named two new caps in the starting team to play Japan in the first test of their Japanese tour in Osaka this Sunday.

I REFER to your item ‘Brian the Lion King’ (Irish Examiner, The Week on a Page, April 16).

THERE’S something about the English arriving at Lansdowne Road that stirs the passion. With the proposed redevelopment of Lansdowne Road, this is likely to be their last game in this stadium, as we know it.

CONNACHT coach Michael Bradley appears likely to join the Irish coaching team for the tour to Japan this summer.

Talented flanker Neil McMillan is to undergo a second exploratory operation on his left knee just as Ulster gear up for the start of their Heineken Cup Pool 6 campaign.

We had to dog it out and that’s not what you want against the Italians. There was a touch of trench warfare.

IRELAND offered a compulsive case again on Saturday that aggression and possession win matches.

DECLAN KIDNEY will not rush into a decision about his future after yesterday's announcement by the IRFU that his contract as assistant coach of the Irish team will not be renewed when it expires in July.

CONFUSION over training times has left Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan fuming ahead of tomorrow’s World Cup quarter-final after his team’s Telstra Dome training yesterday was rescheduled and shortened.

THE major talking points about the Australian team to face Ireland are the omission - from both team and subs bench - of Stirling Mortlock and Chris Latham, the man who ran in a world record five tries against Namibia last Saturday), and Alastair Baxter’s replacement at tight head prop by Ben Darwin.

ARGENTINA, Ireland's opponents in the crunch World Cup tie at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday, finally arrived in the South Australia capital at 6pm local time yesterday.

MILLIONS of words have already been written about Saturday’s thriller at the Millennium Stadium, but none carry more weight than those of Irish captain Brian O’Driscoll after his side’s incredible 25-24 victory over the luckless Welsh.

“I WOULD refuse to be drawn into any comment on where players come from. That’s ludicrous,” was Irish manager Eddie O’Sullivan’s caustic reply when asked about Leinster’s many representatives in Saturday’s team to play Australia.

SEVEN or eight players good enough to represent any team in the Heineken Cup sat in the Thomond Park stand on Saturday watching their Munster comrades battle their way to a hard earned victory over Perpignan.

Oldham coach Mike Ford looks set to switch link up with new Irish coach Eddie O'Sullivan.