Arm injury puts Rhys Ruddock’s Ireland World Cup dream in jeopardy
There were concerns among the Ireland camp last night after Ruddock was forced off just 20 minutes into captaining the Emerging XV in their stop-start victory over Uruguay in Tbilisi.
It was the same forearm the Leinster back-row broke against Harlequins in December that ruled him out of the Six Nations and that later required surgery in April following an unsuccessful return.
Ruddock was handed the captaincy of this team in a bid to play his back into contention for Joe Schmidt squad, appearing to be in direct competition with Munster’s Tommy O’Donnell.
But he could be denied that chance by a cruel twist of bad fortune if scans and the x-ray he was due to undergo last night in the Georgian capital reveal any serious damage.
“We will have to wait 24 hours for the results of the X-ray and scan before we can make a real assessment of the injury,” said Emerging Ireland head coach Allen Clarke.
“He has had a knock there before so of course I am concerned for him as an individual. But he is a resolute young man and I’m sure he will bounce back should this rule him out of the tournament.”
Schmidt is due to arrive in Georgia for Sunday’s last match of the Tbilisi Cup against the hosts. Ruddock’s injury only added to a “frustrating” game for the Irish against stubborn South American opponents who were relentless, competed well at the breakdown and claimed a well-earned a penalty try in the second-half as they, themselves, prepare for the World Cup.
By the time Ireland lost their skipper, they were already 19-0 ahead following tries from Eoin Griffin, John Cooney and Cian Kelleher.
Munster tight-head Stephen Archer already had his opposite number under real pressure but when Uruguay’s pack were cut to seven forwards by a yellow card, Ireland’s scrum won a penalty try on the stroke of half-time.
But Kelleher was binned for cynically blocking a pass as Los Teros made life distinctly difficult for Ireland in the second half.
As well as a bad day for Ruddock, Ireland’s other World Cup hopefuls failed to make their mark. James Cronin looked to struggle in the sweltering 35-degree heat. Rob Herring stepped off the bench but was twice wildly off-target at the lineout, though did contribute a telling turnover close to his own try line.
Jack Conan had limited time off the bench while Leinster centre Noel Reid showed glimpses of good footwork and had a hand in the third try but also coughed up possession twice.
Archer worked hard and it was his initial surge followed by Rory Scannell’s delayed pass that handed Griffin an easy finish for the opening try inside five minutes. Billy Holland and Reid were stopped short but scrum-half John Cooney, among Ireland’s best performers, picked up and dived over for his team’s second on ten minutes.
The backs combined to hand Kelleher an easy finish out wide and Ireland looked to be strolling to a comfortable win before mistakes fuelled a credible Uruguay response.
P Nelson; C Kelleher, E Griffin (L McGrath, 66), N Reid (JJ Hanrahan, 68), A Conway; R Scannell, J Cooney; J Cronin (D Buckley, 59), D Heffernan (R Herring, 59), S Archer (A Warrick, 50), A Browne, B Holland (B Marshall, 50), R Ruddock (capt, D Leavy, 20), E Masterson (J Conan, 59), F Taggart.
J Etcheverry (M Blengio, 71); L Leivas, J Prada (A Roman, 67), A Vilaseca, S Gibernau; A Duran, A Ormaechea; M Sanguinetti (A Corral, 40), G Kessler (N Klappenbach, 68), C Arboleya (M Sagario, 58), F Lamanna, M Palomeque, A Alonso (M Braun, 32), A Nieto (F Bascou, 67), D Magno (S Vilaseca, 58).
Marius Mitrea (Italy)
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