Boost for Munster as fit again Wallace included in squad
The good news is that David Wallace, who suffered a back strain during Ireland’s warm weather camp in Lanzarote recently, has recovered. He is included in the squad, as are hooker Denis Fogarty and centre Gary Connolly who had to be replaced in the course of that match. One major decision has yet to be made, however, and that’s in the second-row where it remains to be seen whether Paul O’Connell, who made a successful return to action after a three months absence in the Connacht game, will come in for either Donncha O’Callaghan and Mick O’Driscoll.
It’s a really difficult call given that O’Callaghan is a Lions Test lock and O’Driscoll has been one of the major successes of the Munster side since his return from a two-year stint with Perpignan. In spite of his status as one of the game’s finest forwards, it could well be that O’Connell will have to settle for a place among the replacements for the first half or so. The same could very well be the situation concerning Brian O’Driscoll. A massive New Year’s Eve crowd - more than 10,000 tickets have already been sold for the eagerly awaited RDS encounter - hope to see the Lions captain start his first game of the season having come through a half hour of the action at Ravenhill on Monday.
