Wallace ready for Aussie face-off

IT’S little wonder Paddy Wallace should react to his inclusion in the Ireland team for Sunday’s game against Australia at Croke Park by ruefully commenting: “It’s great that Declan has shown faith in me and hopefully now I can stay on the pitch and not have to get stitched up again after 20 minutes!”

Wallace is a little accident prone. ! In a career that has known its fair share of ups and downs since he first came to prominence as a member of Ireland’s U19 World Cup winning team in 1998, he has had to endure an unbelievable number of injury setbacks. He has broken both legs, been treated for a perforated ear drum and badly torn knee ligaments while a broken hand prevented him from winning a first cap on the tour of Japan in 2005.

However, it’s for the number of knocks he has taken to his head and face over the past year or so that has had Wallace wondering at one stage whether he “should wear a mask or a cycle helmet next time I go on the pitch”. Certainly, the blood-soaked bandage he sported for much of the 2009 Grand Slam campaign lives in the mind.