Long wait over for fit-again Wallace

DAVID WALLACE isn’t the kind of person to bear grudges and so he refuses to look back upon his omission from Ireland’s 2003 World Cup squad with any sign of undue angst.

It was Eddie O’Sullivan’s decision at the time and Wallace accepted it gracefully, realising that the coach was acting in what he perceived to be the best interests of the team. Fast forward four years the coach now believes Wallace has become “a different player and a world-class number 7”.

“That certainly was a low point in my career because I was also within sniffing distance of my place in 1999 as well,’’ he says. “But I wouldn’t agree that it was necessarily the lowest point of all. I’m here now and what happened in the past is immaterial.

“I think I’ve learned a lot down through the years and that’s probably due to the staff and the management, the training and the services provided, just going over your games, the computer analysis and so on. The game has changed so much that you do need to keep changing with it.”

Ireland forward coach Niall O’Donovan has worked long and hard with Wallace, knowing that he was dealing with a very gifted rugby footballer and it has certainly borne rich fruit. At the age of 31, with 37 caps to his credit since making his debut against Argentina in 2000, the 6ft 2 inch, 15 stone, 6lbs Garryowen man is renowned as a dynamic ball carrier if not an out-and-out traditional type open side flanker.

Again David cites the way the game has changed to explain why the stereotype doesn’t worry him unduly.

“The game has evolved so much nowadays, you just look at our centres Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy and they’re as good as any number seven I’ve ever seen on the ground,’’ he stressed.

“I think it’s a case of all players needing another string to their bow. One player can only be in so many rucks and make so many tackles. Obviously it’s important to be there for the first breakdown but when it goes into phases, everybody has to be able to do their stuff on the ground.”

There were times during the last nine weeks when his availability for the World Cup was thrown very much into doubt because of a chronic ankle injury. Fortunately for the player and O’Sullivan who took the risk of not including another number seven in his squad, it has cleared up just in time.

“I’m very happy to be here now,’’ said Wallace. “I had been holding back for the last two or three weeks but now everything has been going well at training and I’m looking forward to getting some game-time under my belt.

‘‘A lot of players go through tough times with injuries and I’m no different. You deal with them as best you can, try not to lose your focus and not get too down about them. You have a lot of highs in your career and you mustn’t go too low when you get injured.”

As for tomorrow’s game, Wallace is confident that the darker times occasioned by the uncertainty about his ankle are behind him and also believes the preparation that has gone into the World Cup will provide the team with the desired outcome.

“The training sessions have been very much full on and while you can never replicate a match on the training paddock, you can come very close and there has been no discomfort at all,’’ he says. “We’ll be looking for a well controlled performance and for me it’s a case of getting game time and getting used to the physicality.

“Namibia will be a great test of that. For however long I’m on the pitch, I just have to make sure I have a full work rate, get stuck in as much as I can and get back to the form you need to be in to stay in this team. We were relatively successful in the Six Nations last season and it’s great now to have more or less the same team going into the World Cup.”