No quick-fix for Paulie as Archer joins injury list

Ireland head coach Declan Kidney has ruled out an early return to the Test team for Paul O’Connell and cast doubts on Stephen Archer being fit to face Racing Metro in Munster’s do-or-die Heineken Cup clash on Sunday.

Munster lock O’Connell is not due to return from surgery to correct a bulging disc in his lower back until April having gone under the knife on December 31 but there had been the tantalising prospect of him making an early recovery in time to feature at the back end of the RBS 6 Nations, with Ireland concluding its campaign on March 16 against Italy.

As expected, the 33-year-old was not named in Kidney’s extended Six Nations squad yesterday but when asked if there was a chance O’Connell might appear later on in the championship, the head coach replied an emphatic “No”.

Tighthead prop Archer suffered a dead leg in Munster’s home RaboDirect Pro12 defeat to Cardiff Blues on January 5 and was a late withdrawal from the match-day squad for the Heineken Cup clash at Edinburgh last weekend, with John Ryan promoted to bench duties as back up to starter BJ Botha.

All the indications emanating this week suggested the 24-year-old would be available for selection but Kidney omitted Archer from his extended Six Nations squad yesterday and next week’s Wolfhounds game against England Saxons, pending a return to fitness.

The former Munster head coach, in replying to the possibility of boosting his back-row options following this weekend’s final round of European pool games, threw Archer’s name into the conversation to emphasise “the different scenarios” regarding squad amendments.

“Stephen picked up a heavy dead leg in the match against Cardiff in Cork the week before last and it doesn’t look as if he’ll be fit but there’s an outside possibility so we’ll just keep an eye on it,” Kidney said.

As for his potential back-row call-ups, the Ireland boss gave Tommy O’Donnell and James Coughlan further incentive to shine for Munster at Thomond Park this weekend, dangling the carrot of an international call-up before them.

Preferring to wait until after the weekend before bringing in players, Kidney said: “I’m in danger of leaving somebody out but it would be along the lines of somebody like Kevin McLaughlin, who hasn’t had a lot of pitch time in the last five or six weeks but has played well when he’s played.” Kidney also name-checked Robbie Diack, Rhys Ruddock, Tommy O’Donnell, Roger Wilson (all Ulster) and Munster’s Coughlan.