Ireland unchanged for Wales clash

Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan has named an unchanged side for Saturday’s potential RBS 6 Nations title decider against Wales.

O’Sullivan has opted not to tinker with his line-up despite Saturday’s 26-19 defeat by France at Lansdowne Road, a result which ended Ireland’s hopes of securing a first Grand Slam since 1948.

Ulster veteran Kevin Maggs will continue at inside centre following the failure of Gordon D’Arcy and Shane Horgan to recover from their respective hamstring and thumb injuries.

“It wasn’t a difficult team selection meeting. We didn’t think about changing anyone because we played well against France, so we’ve stuck with the same squad,” said O’Sullivan.

D'Arcy has seen just over 20 minutes of Six Nations action this season after limping off in the opener against Italy and hopes of his inclusion against Wales were ended this morning.

Horgan fractured his thumb against England on February 27, forcing him to miss the 19-13 triumph over France, and has also failed to complete his rehabilitation in time for Saturday.

O’Sullivan said: “Gordon and Shane have not recovered so are unavailable. Once we learned that, we knew we would be selecting the same side again.”

Ireland must beat Grand Slam-chasing Wales by at least 13 points – and hope France score less than 42 points against Italy – to land their first championship title since 1985.

They have not lost in Cardiff in 22 years but all the momentum is with resurgent Wales who are in pole position to complete a clean sweep after beating Scotland 46-22 on Sunday.

Ireland team to play Wales in the RBS Six Nations at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday:

G Murphy (Leicester); G Dempsey (Leinster), B O’Driscoll (Leinster, capt), K Maggs (Ulster), D Hickie (Leinster); R O’Gara (Munster), P Stringer (Munster); R Corrigan (Leinster), S Byrne (Leinster), J Hayes (Munster), M O’Kelly (Leinster), P O’Connell (Munster), S Easterby (Llanelli), J O’Connor (Wasps), A Foley (Munster).

Replacements: F Sheahan (Munster), M Horan (Munster), D O’Callaghan (Munster), E Miller (Leinster), G Easterby (Leinster), D Humphreys (Ulster), G Duffy (Harlequins).