O'Sullivan blasts Sole 'nonsense'

Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan today rubbished accusations he may have used an alleged choking incident involving Ronan O’Gara as a smokescreen to mask concussion.

O’Sullivan claimed after Saturday’s 19-18 Six Nations victory at Murrayfield that O’Gara had been deliberately choked by an unnamed Scotland player, forcing him to lose consciousness.

Yesterday, former Scotland skipper David Sole declared O’Gara may have been concussed, forcing him to miss the weekend’s crucial showdown with Italy

Ireland’s revelation that O’Gara had turned blue as a result of the choke was dismissed by Scotland coach Frank Hadden, who declared it was paint from an advertisement.

O’Sullivan insists he would never put a player’s welfare at risk and branded the suggestions as “nonsense”.

“Is David Sole a doctor? Our medical staff are 100% in agreement that Ronan O’Gara doesn’t have any concussion of any description and did not swallow his tongue,” he said.

“Nor did he have blue paint on his face. I’m not offended by David Sole’s opinion. I don’t know how David came into this or whether he’s an expert on concussion.

“If there was an issue of Ronan being concussed, anyone who knows me well enough knows I wouldn’t put a player in jeopardy under any circumstances. I’m not upset by any of this. It’s nonsense.”

Brian Fowler, the independent citing commissioner for the match, found no incidents of foul play and O’Sullivan is keen to draw a line under the matter.

“Why would I regret what I said? Just because it wasn’t substantiated doesn’t mean it didn’t happen,” he said.

“Foul play that isn’t substantiated happens all the time on the rugby pitch. This is not the first time it’s happened, nor will it be the last.

“I don’t regret saying anything and I can’t imagine why I would regret it.

“Frank Hadden and I have been trying to make contact but keep missing each other.

“I suspect the reason he wants to speak to me is to put the whole thing behind us.

“Frank wants to concentrate on the game in Paris and I want to focus on the game in Rome.

“Nothing will change. The decision has been made by the match commissioner that there’s no case to answer so it’s over.

“We have to move on. Ronan is fine and there’s no sense in dragging it out over another couple of days.”

Ireland have promoted lock Mick O’Driscoll to the starting line-up for Saturday’s trip to the Stadio Flaminio.

O’Driscoll replaces Munster team-mate Paul O’Connell, who will be sidelined for at least four weeks because of a fractured right thumb, with Leinster’s Trevor Hogan filling the vacancy on the bench.

O’Sullivan admitted losing O’Connell was a major setback against the ever physical Italians. The Lions lock will also miss the Heineken Cup quarter-final against Llanelli on March 30.

“Paul had an operation on his thumb last night. We think he’ll be out for four to five weeks,” he said.

“There’s no point dancing on the fact he’s a talisman for the team. He’s a leader and hard to replace but you have to give Mick some credit.

“Mick has been waiting in the wings and gets his chance now. He’s an experienced campaigner so I have no concerns about playing him.”

A late decision will be made at loosehead where Munster prop Marcus Horan will be given as much time as possible to recover from his calf strain with Simon Best on standby to deputise once again.