Boost for Kidney as O’Callaghan passed fit

WITH more than half the Six Nations campaign remaining, Ireland’s casualty list is beginning to cause some concern, but Declan Kidney was at least presented with the boost of a fit-again Donncha O’Callaghan in Killiney yesterday.

The Munster forward has played no part in Ireland’s games against Italy and France, but he was passed fit by team medics yesterday and will be available for selection against England.

There was further encouraging news in the shape of Stephen Ferris, who only returned from his own injury problems in time for the defeat in Paris two weekends ago.

The Ulster back-row played all 80 minutes at the Stade de France but he is being weaned back on to the training paddock and sat out part of yesterday’s training sessions in Greystones.

He will be expected to participate fully in preparations today and tomorrow and team manager Paul McNaughton admitted he was “confident Ferris will be available” for the weekend.

The same applies to Marcus Horan, though he didn’t train yesterday due to sickness, while Tom Court had no concerns after his workout and Geordan Murphy reported for duty after a weekend run with Leicester.

As expected, it was confirmed that both Donncha Ryan and Sean O’Brien will sit out the remainder of the Six Nations after the pair suffered significant injuries with their provinces over the weekend.

McNaughton was unable to put a definitive time span on Ryan’s period of recuperation but surmised that he will definitely be on the sidelines for five to six weeks at least.

If accurate, that would see the 26-year old return to fitness in and around the start of April. Munster face Northampton in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup on April 10.

All that is for another day, however. The reality right now is that, having negotiated 2009 relatively injury-free, Ireland’s strength in depth is being exposed to a rigorous examination.

Luke Fitzgerald, Rob Kearney and Denis Leamy are other cards to have been removed from Kidney’s hand in recent months while Jerry Flannery’s suspension has given the coach a further headache.

“It is just one of those things and a question of being lucky last year as opposed to being unlucky this year,” said McNaughton. “Last year we got through with everybody available for every game. We had less injuries than average. We are getting to the stage now where we are certainly back to average and we don’t want to see any more because they are starting to pile up.”

Nevertheless, what the weekend’s Magners League games took away with one hand they gave back with another in the form of some noteworthy and timely individual performances.

Jonathan Sexton and Shane Horgan made strong cases for themselves in Leinster’s defeat of the Scarlets.

Kidney will reveal his first 15 at lunchtime today and, with Ronan O’Gara’s form again under scrutiny after the tie in Paris, all eyes will turn eagerly to the name listed beside the number ten on the teamsheet.

Backs coach Alan Gaffney has admitted that Sexton’s display on Saturday had made the final choice more difficult, even if Michael Cheika did criticise some of the tyro’s tactical kicking.

“Yeah, definitely,” said the Australian. “I thought ‘Sexto’ played very well for Leinster the other night. He hasn’t had a lot of game time since that minor injury following South Africa, but he did play well the other night.

“Yeah, it’s intriguing. Ronan’s performed for a long, long time and still does, so it’s going to make for an interesting selection between those two. It could go either way and both bring a lot to the party.”

Another intriguing waiting game is being played over Ireland’s back three. Though Kearney and Fitzgerald are both absent, Kidney still has nine players available to him this week that could do a job on the wing or at full-back.

“We have got some flexibility there, which is a great thing,” said Gaffney. “Keith (Earls) offers a number of options. Tommy Bowe can play 13, 11, 14, 15 and Geordan’s on the way back in and Geordan has obviously got the ability. So, we’ll just try and balance it and come up with the best possible option we think for the game.”