THE Irish rugby squad made their annual trip to Limerick this week in preparation for the 2011 Six Nations. Head Coach Declan Kidney had to work with a shuffled deck this week as the squad was hit by several injuries.
The treatment room now contains, Tommy Bowe (knee), Andrew Trimble (hand), Shane Horgan (knee), John Hayes (groin), Jamie Heaslip (ankle), Rory Best (neck), Geordan Murphy (foot). Of that injury list, Tommy Bowe looks to be the only player who might be available for one of the two opening games of the Six Nations. Ireland open their campaign with a trip to Rome on February 5, followed by the visit of France on February 13.
Ireland manager Paul Mc Naughton feels that the squad depth will now be tested. “The injuries are unfortunate and maybe a little more than we expected after week 5 and 6 of the Heineken Cup. We have to look at the depth now and players who are with us in Limerick this week as well as the Irish Wolfhounds, who face Scotland this weekend, all have a chance of playing in the opening game against Italy”.
With injury ruling John Hayes out for some weeks, Tony Buckley has not been brought into the Six Nations squad just yet, the Munster tighthead will play this week against Scotland ‘A’, with a view to proving his worth for inclusion alongside Tom Court and Mike Ross in the main squad.
Speaking to PostSport this week, Ulster’s dual sided prop Tom Court spoke about the competition for places and the advantage the Wolfhounds players might just have this week.
“I’d love to be in the team for the five fixtures and to get a starting berth in a couple of them would be fantastic but I think looking too far past that would probably be a little bit ambitious, especially with the competition there is now from the guys down south,” said Court. “The players who are playing this weekend against Scotland ‘A’ are still in contention and they have the chance to show one more time what they can do”.
With injuries mounting, it seems Kidney will be looking to try and patch together a team to face Italy, with the side hopefully welcoming back more experience for the French game.
With Leinster and Ulster playing so well, don’t expect too many Munster caps.
