Gregan hopes for timely deliveries

GEORGE GREGAN is ready to fly to and from Australia in a matter of days so he can witness the birth of his second child and return in time to lead the side at Twickenham against England next Saturday.

Today the scrum-half will captain the Wallabies against Ireland at Lansdowne Road. Immediately afterwards he will board a plane for Australia where his wife, Erica, is expecting their second child on Monday.

And, after a brief stop, he will be making the 21 hour return journey to London where he intends to help the world champions strike an early psychologial blow ahead of next year's World Cup. "I'm aiming to get into Australia on Monday. The baby is due then. I'll be back in London on Wednesday morning," the 29-year-old ACT star explained.However, he refused to say what he would do if the birth was delayed for any reason.

In the meantime, the world's most-capped scrum-half with 79 Test appearances - said he was not expecting jetlag to be a problem.

"I don't think I'll get a chance to adjust to the time zones so I should be all right," Gregan told reporters at Australia's hotel in Portmarnock yesterday.

Gregan's team-mate Bill Young has been on a similar global trip from Argentina to Sydney via Cape Town following the Wallabies 17-6 victory over the Pumas in Buenos Aires to witness the birth of his son. But Gregan said ducking out of the England game was not an option as far as he was concerned. "We spoke about if from a personal point of view but I also have responsibilities as a captain. You take that on board when you lead your team. It matters to me to accomplish both things."