O’Driscoll could be fit for opener

AFTER an August of seemingly never-ending series of setbacks with injury and poor on-field form, Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan could at least afford to smile a little yesterday.

They say time heals all but then there are timely healers like his captain, Brian O’Driscoll, who could make a dramatic return for Ireland’s Rugby World Cup pool opener against Namibia in Bordeaux on Sunday.

O’Driscoll’s comeback is set to come a week ahead of schedule and just 18 days after Mike Tewhata’s, fist almost shattered the Irish centre’s RWC hopes in the now infamous ‘Battle of Bayonne’.

O’Driscoll came through a full contact session unscathed in Belfield yesterday. The Ireland captain sustained a fracture to his sinus and a deep laceration under his right eye on August 16, but a clearly-relieved O’Sullivan said his inspirational skipper is very close to getting the all-clear for Sunday’s pool opener in south west France.

Another of O’Sullivan’s indispensables, Shane Horgan, abstained from contact work but remains on course for the Georgia game on September 16.

Spirits were lifted in Irish camp yesterday by O’Driscoll’s return to contact, but his comeback hinges on medical clearance, said O’Sullivan.

There was clearly a spring in the head coach’s step at the team base in Dublin and, the weight of the world which lay on his shoulders a few weeks ago, looks to be dissipating now.

“We’ll need to get a medical call on Brian playing Sunday before we finally sign off on it,” said O’Sullivan, “but at the moment he’s ahead of schedule. It becomes a possibility more than anything else.

“Brian being back this early is a huge boost. His injury could have been a lot worse but it wasn’t. Once we got the good news that he was going to be out for a few weeks, it was just about trying to beat that deadline then. And to be fair, he’s worked very hard on his fitness and on his rugby without going into contact. But I think we’re getting very close to getting the all clear now. It’s really down to the medics.

“It’s the healing process. Same with Shane – Shane has worked very hard as well. He’s a good healer. I was quite confident both of them would be in good nick at this stage.”

There were no negative injury report cards yesterday to go alongside the unremitting ones that hit the back pages in recent weeks.

Stephen Ferris is suffering no ill-effects from a knee injury, while O’Sullivan also revealed he had every confidence David Wallace would be back for the RWC – if not this week, then next week.

“I wasn’t worried about David because for the last three weeks he could have trained or being involved more than he has been. But there was a risk in that, had he another setback in his ankle, he could have missed the start of the World Cup.

“I took the same approach with John Hayes four years ago when John picked up an injury not long before going to the Australian World Cup. I just made sure he got that right before we put him into the World Cup. And we just got John into the last World Cup basically by gradually easing him in.

“I’d the same thoughts about David – I didn’t want him to have a set-back a week or two out and have to manage that. I felt the best thing was to allow him the best amount of time he needed. Even if it took until next week to be up and running, I wouldn’t have lost any sleep over it. I’m just glad he’s back.”