Time to right some wrongs

Cast aside the disruption caused by the unscheduled absence of Ireland forwards coach Gert Smal and forget the frozen frustration of Paris, however well-placed the annoyance of the postponement and rescheduling debate surrounding the game with France.

The opportunity to get this Six Nations campaign back on track against Italy at home today (1.30pm) rather than the French in their own back yard a fortnight ago should be a great relief to Ireland.

Yesterday’s announcement that Smal will take no further part in the campaign due to the recurrence of a long-standing eye condition is an unfortunate disruption, not least to the man himself, but having worked closely with pack leader Paul O’Connell since 2008, a temporary absence is not the catastrophe for Ireland it might have been, Greg Feek is still in situ as scrum coach and the South African’s short-term replacement, Anthony Foley, is hardly an unfamiliar face in Irish rugby.