O'Sullivan welcomes back two captains

Ireland welcome back Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell for the RBS 6 Nations with coach Eddie O’Sullivan admitting their absence rips the heart from his team.

The inspirational duo missed the entire November series through injury but will be restored to the starting line-up when O’Sullivan names his side to face Italy at lunchtime today.

Ireland crashed to heavy defeats by New Zealand and Australia during the autumn internationals but have been reinforced for the Six Nations by the return of O’Driscoll and O’Connell.

“Brian and Paul are the two captains in the side and we missed them in the autumn, there’s no two ways about that,” he said.

“It’s good to have them back with a clean bill of health. They give us leadership and experience which is hard to replace when they’re not there.

“Having both captained the side they have a certain gravitas about them.”

Ireland’s team had a settled look during last year’s Six Nations but there will be some new faces in the starting line-up for Saturday’s championship opener against Italy.

Test veterans Anthony Foley, Reggie Corrigan, Shane Byrne and Denis Hickie are all gone, giving some younger challengers a chance to stake their claim.

Munster’s Jerry Flannery could land the hooking duties ahead of Rory Best while Donncha O’Callaghan is pushing Malcolm O’Kelly hard for a place in the second row.

Denis Leamy replaced Munster team-mate Foley at number eight for the November series and looks set to continue alongside Simon Easterby in the back row.

Openside Johnny O’Connor, however, could lose out to David Wallace, who has been outstanding for Munster in recent matches – although Wallace’s ability to cover all three positions in the loose trio also makes him ideal for bench duty.

Having already completed the tricky task of reducing his back row to four options last Wednesday, O’Sullivan admits it is an area of strength for Ireland.

“We’ve been building our depth and have an embarrassment of riches in the back row. Selection in the back row is a nightmare,” he said.

“Trying to get the balance right and yet be fair to all the players at the same time is very difficult. We could pick any three of a dozen back rows for a Test match and that’s great.

“I wish I had that depth in every area of the team. It comes into play when you have injuries, but we do have a little more depth than this time last year.”

The backs will take care of themselves, with the only area of uncertainty on the wings where Shane Horgan, Tommy Bowe and Andrew Trimble are in contention for two available spots.

A doubt rests over Geordan Murphy, who has been suffering from an Achilles injury, but the Leicester Tigers star is confident he will be fit to face Italy.

“I’ve had a problem with my Achilles tendon of late. It got a bit sore again when playing for Leicester in the Heineken Cup,” he said.

“But with the rest last week, it will not be a problem and I will be fine.”