Inter-change rule could be the key, says McGrath

IRISH manager Peter McGrath has made it clear to his players what he expects from them if they are to beat Australia tonight (throw-in 11.45am Irish time).

The key to victory will be to prevent them from carrying the ball deep into attack and setting up scoring opportunities.

And, conceding that it will be “high energy and very demanding physically,’’ he said it would require the management to be use the inter-change rule very effectively.

McGrath was speaking after telling Tyrone pair Ryan McMenamin and Philip Jordan, along with Westmeath star Dessie Dolan and Laois’ Ross Munnelly, that they would take no part in the game.

Munnelly (dead leg) and McMenamin (chest infection) missed out because they were not 100% fit, he explained, but they would definitely play in the second game in Melbourne.

In Dolan’s case, he had been injured early in the summer and had gone through a lot of rehab to get himself in the frame to be selected for the squad. Jordan’s involvement was limited by Tyrone’s championship involvement and he hadn’t had time “to adapt” to the game.

In taking the decisions, the margins had been “almost negligible,” he said, but all four players had reacted very positively.

IRELAND: M. McVeigh, B. Coulter (Down), E. Brosnan, C. Cooper, T. Ó Sé (Kerry); G. Canty, A. Lynch, S. Óg Ó hAilpin (Cork); S. Cavanagh, B. Dooher, B. McGuigan, S. O’Neill, O. Mulligan (Tyrone); P. Joyce (capt), M. Meehan (Galway); R. Clarke (Armagh); S.M. Lockhart (Derry); M. Forde (Wexford); D. Heaney, C. McDonald (Mayo); C. McManus (Offaly); B. Cullen (Dublin), T. Kelly (Laois).