Ireland confident D’Arcy and Earls will report for duty

As expected, payment for Cardiff’s heroics was still being made by a number of Ireland’s players yesterday but team management expressed confidence that a clean bill of health will be achievable by Friday at the latest.

In all, a casualty list that extended to six players — Brian O’Driscoll, Gordon D’Arcy, Keith Earls, Peter O’Mahony, Mike Ross and Rob Kearney — was read out by team manager Mick Kearney at yesterday’s briefing but two in particular are causing more concern than the rest after a training session in the gym.

D’Arcy was carried off the Millennium Stadium pitch in some discomfort with a dead leg after 43 minutes and his replacement, Earls, finished the game with a shoulder injury which restricted him to a modified run-out yesterday.

The diagnosis on both was bleak immediately after the Six Nations opener and, while both have improved since, Kearney admitted neither would have been ready to feature against Stuart Lancaster’s side had the game been played yesterday or today.

He lumped Peter O’Mahony into that particular scenario, too, although the vibes on the Munster flanker were better, even if he will be subject to IRB protocols on concussion.

Earls, however, will see a specialist about his shoulder today which seemed to suggest his chances of playing may be closer to slim or none.

“Not necessarily,” said Kearney. “He presented kind of poorly enough post the game but the prognosis at the moment is that he has a sore shoulder. There doesn’t appear to be any major ligament damage or anything like that, so the medics would be hopeful that he would be available.”

That said, Ulster centre Darren Cave is one of four players drafted into the squad as cover. Provincial team-mate Andrew Trimble, Ulster full-back Robbie Henshaw and Leinster flanker Rhys Ruddock are the other newcomers.

What is remarkable is there wasn’t the need for more. Brian O’Driscoll’s lacerated scalp has been stitched, Mike Ross’ calf cramp has been brushed off while Rob Kearney’s bruised back resulted in only light duties for now.

It probably says something about the all-hands-on-deck nature of the rearguard against Wales that Ireland’s casualty list is manned more by backs than forwards and so light — in relative terms — has the attrition rate up front been that Tom Court, Mike Sherry and Michael Bent were all deemed surplus to requirements this week.

Yet how fresh the Irish team and, in particular, the pack will be after the heroics in the Welsh capital will be critical against an English team that destroyed Ireland in the scrum in Twickenham last March.

Forwards coach Gert Smal dismissed the relevance of that encounter yesterday — “last year is last year” — while adding Sunday’s visitors have expanded their game under Stuart Lancaster.

“The main thing is just to concentrate on ourselves first and make sure everything is in place,” he said. “We don’t want to concentrate too much on them. We will obviously look at certain individuals and where they are strong because sometimes you want to attack their strengths as well. We will look at their weaknesses and go on that as well.”