Murphy, Ruddock ready to step up

Leinster’s dynamic back row duo of Jordi Murphy and Rhys Ruddock are ready, willing and able to step up to the plate for Ireland against Italy should Peter O’Mahony’s hamstring strain sideline him next month.

Murphy came on against England at Twickenham on Saturday to earn his first senior cap, while Ruddock has been used as cover in the guise of the 24th man in recent weeks. Both have played exceptionally for their province this season.

“Those guys are definitely in the mix and Jordi got his first cap, which was fantastic, on the weekend,” said Leinster manager Guy Easterby.

“Rhys has been right up there in terms of his performances this year and he was in the extended squad. So you would imagine if Peter’s not involved – and I’m not sure what the situation is with his injury — then those guys are at the front of the queue in terms of replacing him. They’ve got (Iain) Henderson as well who came on at six at the weekend so we will see.”

O’Mahony was the only serious injury concern to emerge from the three-point defeat in London. Brian O’Driscoll was replaced late on with what is said to be “calf cramping” while the IRFU said yesterday no-one else had sustained any knock of note.

Both men will be assessed throughout the week and head coach Joe Schmidt will give the latest updates when he talks to the media today. The squad will reassemble in Belfast for a two-day camp tomorrow and Thursday.

It remains to be seen how Schmidt approaches the round four home fixture against an Italian side that is nought-for-three on Saturday week and whether he will opt to freshen up the team and the squad.

The possible benefits of rotating players in and out are all too obvious but then so too are the perspective drawbacks, especially given there would be a three-week gap between Twickenham and the final game in Paris for anyone left inactive against Italy. Ireland’s first defeat of the Six Nations campaign has prompted contrasting takes with one camp of the view that change is required and another pointing to the narrow margin of defeat and the need to keep faith with the grand project.

Either way, a lack of pace in the three-quarters and the absence of sufficient ball-carrying menace up front have been two problem areas suggested and Easterby was asked if men like Murphy, Ruddock and Luke Fitzgerald would be possible answers. Fitzgerald came through last Thursday’s defeat of Cardiff in Wales with a clean bill of health after his recent injury layoff.

So too did scrum-half Eoin Reddan and both will hope to push their Test cases further this Saturday at home to Glasgow in the PRO12.

“Peter O’Mahony has probably been one of the best players on the pitch this last couple of games so you could say that is slightly unfair on him because he has been outstanding at the breakdown,” said Easterby. “That game could have gone either way but for the bounce of the ball.

“They probably got a few breaks with that bounce actually, although maybe that’s just us seeing it through Irish eyes. It was such a tight game. The margins are tight at that level and I don’t think there’s really anything you can pinpoint as to why they lost. It was an outstanding Test match.”