Testing times for Irish hopefuls

THE CONTRAST was striking.

Last weekend, Ireland’s under-strength tour party left Shannon bound for Buenos Aires and a demanding two-test series against an even weaker Pumas squad.

At the same time, many of Ireland’s first choice players headed off to various European holiday destinations with only the weather and possible sunburn to concern them. For the Argentine tourists, with World Cup places up for grabs, the challenge of avoiding a roasting of an entirely different kind beckons.

The build-up to this tour has been difficult with relations between the IRFU and their Argentine counterparts deteriorating due to a complete lack of cooperation from the hosts. At one stage, Ireland threatened to pull out of the tour as they couldn’t even ascertain the proposed venues for the games.

Relations on the field are likely to be even less cordial. When the sides last met in Dublin in 2004, Ireland’s narrow 21-19 victory was overshadowed by allegations of eye gouging against a number of the Argentine players. The same happened after the World Cup clash in Adelaide in 2003. With the sides locked together once again in Pool D of next September’s event, neither Eddie O’Sullivan nor his counterpart Marcelo Loffreda will want to concede much.

The challenge for O’Sullivan will be to get the various new combinations in the side to gel quickly. The fact that many of the travelling party have been below par with their respective provinces over the last few weeks doesn’t help. Since the party assembled, O’Sullivan has made it abundantly clear that this tour is about challenging for the remaining places on the squad for the global showdown in France in three months’ time. As a result, a number of players have much to play for over the next fortnight.

Nowhere is competition greater than in the back five of the scrum. With Paul O’Connell and Donncha O’Callaghan assured of their places, only two slots remain. Next Saturday, Mal O’Kelly and Trevor Hogan get their opportunity. O’Kelly has had an outstanding career but has been blighted by injury in recent times. Despite his position as Ireland’s most capped player, he now faces a threat to his squad position on the back of recent poor form for Leinster. On Saturday week, Leo Cullen and Mick O’Driscoll are likely to be granted their opportunity.

The battle for the remaining back row places is even more intense. With the Six Nations trio of Denis Leamy, David Wallace and Simon Easterby already on the plane, there are going to be some serious casualties in this area. Shane Jennings and Keith Gleeson are vying for one position as the back up No. 7 to Wallace. Jamie Heaslip is in a strong position as the only natural No. 8 in the party which means that Neil Best and Alan Quinlan are fighting for the same World Cup jersey. I would hate to exclude either of them. At this stage it would seem that the promising Stephen Ferris will have to wait for New Zealand in 2011 to sample World Cup action unless he does something extraordinary on this trip.

Behind the scrum, despite suggestions to the contrary, I think only one place remains to be decided in O’Sullivan’s mind. In addition to his first choice back-line, Isaac Boss and Eoin Reddan will act as cover to Peter Stringer. What this tour will decide however is who becomes second in the pecking order. Boss was on the bench in the Six Nations but Reddan’s form in Wasps’ successful march to Heineken Cup glory could see him overtake the Ulster player. Boss gets first crack on Saturday with Reddan likely to start an international for the first time in Buenos Aires.

Of all the players on tour, Paddy Wallace will be under the spotlight most. At this stage he is certain to start both tests unless he has a disaster in Santa Fe. He performed admirably in his only other start against the Pacific Islands last November, scoring 26 points. However, this will be an altogether different challenge. The hostile crowd at both venues will test the nerve of even the most seasoned campaigner. If Ireland are to compete against the best in France, it is imperative that adequate cover is found for Ronan O’Gara. The Irish management fervently hope that Wallace will come through this tour to provide it.

The recent performances of Shane Horgan for both Leinster and Ireland as centre cover for Brian O’Driscoll will surely have convinced O’Sullivan that he is best positioned on the wing. As a result Andrew Trimble will now be given the opportunity of starting both tests in midfield to see if he can operate there at the highest level. The majority of his caps to date have been on the wing as question marks remain over his passing skills.

The Argentine back-line for the opening test, apart from Felipe Contepomi, is lacking experience so Trimble has the perfect opportunity to showcase his range of skills.

Of the back three on tour, I am really looking forward to seeing how Brian Carney performs on the international stage. His experience and all-round game could see him secure the only remaining back-line slot (assuming Geordan Murphy will be selected) on the assumption that O’Sullivan only brings 13 backs to France.

Saturday’s opening test provides Ireland with their best opportunity of victory on tour as Loffreda is likely to have a bigger squad to choose from for the second test, with several French-based players becoming available. Despite the absence of the majority of their first choice forwards, the Pumas will offer a formidable challenge up front, particularly at scrum time. Ulster props Simon Best and Bryan Young need to convince that they have the ability to compete at this level. Wasps’ decision to omit Peter Bracken from their starting line-up for Sunday’s Heineken Cup final despite naming him in the team during the week is unlikely to do anything for his confidence. Tony Buckley is also very inexperienced at this level.

To win one test is the minimum requirement for Ireland but O’Sullivan will argue that determining the strength and character of his support players could be far more important come next September.