Wood named in 40-man Ireland squad

KEITH WOOD’S rehabilitation from serious injury continued apace yesterday when the Irish hooker was named in a 40-man squad to take part in an Ireland training camp in Athlone next week.

Wood, who has not played Test rugby since playing against Russia in the World Cup qualifying match last September 21 and who was regarded as a major injury doubt ahead of the World Cup in Australia, is now increasingly likely to take an active part in the competition.

He injured his shoulder in the World Cup qualifier but was subsequently sidelined by a deep-rooted neck injury which not only prevented him playing in last season's Six Nations tournament, but also precluded him playing for his club side Harlequins.

However, after several months of intensive treatment and therapy, Wood is set to figure centrally in the plans of Irish coach Eddie O'Sullivan as he prepares his side for the World Cup campaign.

The news may also be good for Munster coach Alan Gaffney who, provided Wood comes through the World Cup unscathed, can look forward to having the player available for Munster's Heineken Cup campaign from December.

Wood's availability is timely following the suspension from the game of Frankie Sheahan as he fights a doping conviction. Paul Shields (Ulster) and Shane Byrne (Leinster) are the two other hookers named apart from Wood.

Otherwise, the squad has a familiar look to it and the only notable absentees are Ronan O'Gara, who has a wrist injury, Leinster's Emmet Byrne with a neck injury and Ulster's James Topping, who has a groin injury.

The Ireland squad training session will be open to the public on a limited basis at Buccaneers ground, Ericsson Park, Athlone, on Wednesday August 6 from 2-3pm when players will be available to sign autographs.

Meanwhile, the fallout from Australia's humbling weekend defeat by New Zealand intensified yesterday when the country's top rugby union official warned of an early World Cup exit.

ARU managing director John O'Neill said Saturday's 50-21 loss to the All Blacks showed the Wallabies were struggling in the lead-up to the tournament which will be played on home soil.

"You've always got to contemplate the prospect that we don't win the World Cup," O'Neill told business leaders. "If we don't win it's not the end of the world...life goes on."

O'Neill said Australia would do well just to make the semi-finals, where they are seeded to meet World Cup favourites New Zealand.

"We are not going to pull a magic wand out and say here it's all fixed. Continuous improvement is one of our aspirations and we have simply not improved at the pace we would have liked."

*All Black great Sean Fitzpatrick has stepped down as manager of Super 12 champions Auckland Blues.

"It's time to move on," Fitzpatrick has said. "What better way to finish than with the successful campaign this year. I thoroughly enjoyed it."

Irish squad: Forwards (21) S Best (Ulster), S Byrne (Leinster), R Corrigan (Leinster), L Cullen (Leinster), Victor Costello (Leinster), K Dawson (London Irish), S Easterby (Llanelli), Justin Fitzpatrick (Castres), A Foley (Munster), K Gleeson (Leinster), J Hayes (Munster) , M Horan (Munster), G Longwell (Ulster), E Miller (Leinster),

D O'Callaghan (Munster), P O'Connell (Munster), M O'Kelly (Leinster), A Quinlan (Munster), P Shields (Ulster), D Wallace (Munster), Keith Wood.

Backs (19) J Bell (Ulster), J Bishop (London Irish), P Burke (Harlequins), G Darcy (Leinster), G Dempsey (Leinster), N Doak (Ulster), G Easterby (Rotherham), R Henderson (Munster), D Hickie (Leinster), A Horgan (Munster), S Horgan

(Leinster), T Howe (Ulster), D Humphreys (Ulster), J Kelly (Munster), K Maggs (Bath), G Murphy (Leicester), B O'Meara (Leinster), B O'Driscoll (Leinster), P Stringer (Munster).