World Cup heartbreak for Wallace and Murphy

DAVID WALLACE, a Lion two years ago when he was also a key member of the national team, is the shock omission from the Irish World Cup squad.

The passing over of Wallace coupled with the tragic injury sustained by Geordan Murphy in Saturday's victory over Scotland at Murrayfield were the main talking points after coach Eddie O'Sullivan finally showed his hand at a press conference in Lansdowne Road yesterday.

Keith Wood will captain the 30-man squad which travels to Bilbao in Spain tomorrow for a week's training. They will then return home for a few days prior to reassembling for a final camp at City West before departing for Australia on September 28. They will leave many extremely disappointed players behind, most notably Wallace and the injured Murphy and Rob Henderson.