No soft centres as Ireland bid to lead Scots merry dance

WE’LL just have to dance with the ladies at the ball!

That was Eddie O’Sullivan’s typically colourful and philosophical reaction to the confirmation yesterday that neither Brian O’Driscoll nor Gordon D’Arcy will be in the Ireland side to take on Scotland in the Six Nations Championship at Murrayfield this afternoon.

“The ladies at the ball” now include Kevin Maggs and Girvan Dempsey in a reshuffled three-quarter line, but the great fear for the Ireland coach is that they won’t enjoy the same harmony as his two absent midfield aces.