No place for unlucky Wallace
Wallace looked to have removed whatever doubt remained about his inclusion with a fine game against the Scots which he capped with a try as he displayed typical pace, strength and positional sense in taking a pass from Brian O’Driscoll before showing the home defence a clean pair of heels from 20 metres.
Although six back-row forwards have been chosen, Keith Gleeson is the only specialist No 7 whereas Victor Costello, Anthony Foley, Alan Quinlan, Eric Miller and Simon Easterby are more at home either at numbers 8 or 6.
Wallace, on the other hand, earned his 14 Irish caps and Lions recognition for his performances on the open side of the scrum. All of which would suggest the back-row, for all its numerical clout, may well lack balance and injury to Gleeson might be more acutely felt than would have been the case had a spot been found for Wallace.
While Wallace and Leinster second-row Leo Cullen and scrum-half Brian O’Meara have good reason to feel hard done by, there was joy for a number of those who hoped rather than expected to get the call. Chief among them, of course, is Frankie Sheahan, for whom an amazing week has ended on the happiest possible note. His Cork Constitution club-mate, Donnacha O’Callaghan, was also elated at receiving the news, even if it was relayed by Alan Quinlan pretending to be Irish manager Brian O’Brien! Quinlan and O’Callaghan are a noted pair of pranksters who are sure to create a lot of good fun and lively atmosphere down under.
Coach Eddie O’Sullivan stated that approximately two thirds of the squad had been decided upon by Saturday but denied that the back-row issue was a done deal ever before Murrayfield. That is especially surprising given the quality of Wallace’s display which seemed to demonstrate that he was no longer affected by the shoulder injury that has blighted his career over the past year and indeed O’Sullivan admitted as much. “Yesterday was an important game for a lot of people and certainly you always tend to look at the last game and think that was the defining factor, but it was done over the past four weeks and the tour of the islands in the close season.”
Personally, I am astonished that Wallace has been passed over for Easterby, especially, and Miller. The hard grounds in Australia would have been tailor-made for a ball carrying player of his style and quality. With the possible exception of Victor Costello, I don’t believe we have any forward capable of breaking tackles with the same facility and whether he started a game or was introduced as an impact player with 20 minutes or so to go, I believe Wallace would have been an invaluable member of the side.
“We have such a wealth of talent in the back-row that it gives us lots of options”, said O’Sullivan. “If you picked the Rugby World Cup squad two years ago, it would be a lot different to what it is today. That’s the nature of the game. Nothing stays the same. Nothing stands still. Some players improve and still don’t make the 30. Others pass them out. It’s a very fluid and changing situation. It’s the here and now that counts.
“The back-row was always going to be incredibly, incredibly competitive. Unfortunately, somebody had to lose. If David’s name was in there, somebody else’s wouldn’t be and we’d be having the same conversation. But if any of those guys had to come in, I wouldn’t miss a heartbeat. We all know they’re quality, world-class players, but only 30 can get on that plane. I’m very happy to go with this squad. We can now focus on the World Cup. Getting on the squad cannot be the top of the mountain. This is base camp, the top of the mountain is a long way in front of us and that’s what the players must realise. But we’re looking forward to the climb.”
The injury to Geordan Murphy and the omission of obvious alternatives such as Paddy Wallace and Gordon Darcy means that Ireland travel without any obvious standby for Girvan Dempsey at full-back. Other decisions will also come under scrutiny, most notably at scrum-half where Guy Easterby, who has been anything but impressive in his appearances in the green jersey, and Ulster’s Neil Doak are the alternatives to Peter Stringer whose importance to the team, accordingly, grows ever greater. Brian O’Meara and Brian O’Riordan will be disappointed. There is considerable concern about the fitness of Shane Horgan, Jonny Bell, John Kelly and John Hayes. O’Sullivan stressed that each would be given every opportunity to prove their fitness and expanded: “Shane is due back to play the week before we go into final camp; John Kelly, we don’t know. It’s a rib cartilage and it depends on his healing power, but he’s made a very good recovery in the past week; John Hayes may take a little longer and Jonny Bell has a problem with his achilles tendon and we hope to have an update on that by tomorrow.”
After what happened to Geordan Murphy on Saturday, very few of the chosen 30 will want to play between now and departure time although O’Sullivan said that some of those coming back from long-term injuries may turn out in one or two Celtic League ties. In that context, Hayes’s recovery from torn calf muscle will be monitored closely. He is a cornerstone of the team and Ireland’s hopes of a quarter-final place would be grievously damaged should he not make it.
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