Schmidt urges Ireland to use common sense with O’Driscoll injury

LEINSTER coach Joe Schmidt insists a common sense approach is all that is needed to ensure Brian O’Driscoll stays fit for the remainder of the Rugby World Cup.

The Irish captain has been carrying a persistent shoulder injury which impinged on his pre-season and saw him miss three of the four warm-up games. And it was clearly affecting him prior to his replacement after 76 minutes against Australia at the weekend.

“Strategy-wise you’ve got to place him in the right games at the right time,” said the Leinster coach, “and if there’s a game that he doesn’t need or a game you can do without him and the team can don’t need him, then you can mix and match a little bit.