IRELAND’S WORST FEARS were confirmed this afternoon as Tommy O’Donnell was ruled out of the World Cup after dislocating his hip in Cardiff on Saturday.
With a little over four weeks until the campaign opener against Canada, O’Donnell’s injury represents a significant setback for Joe Schmidt as he looks to settle on a final 31-man panel for the tournament.
O’Donnell suffered a heavy knock in the dying minutes of Ireland’s 35-21 win over Wales and had to receive oxygen as the medical staff attended to him.
The Munster flanker, although relatively inexperienced at international level, had played his way into contention and was in with a great chance of booking a seat on the plane as one of the back-row options.
Speaking after the game at the Millennium Stadium, Jamie Heaslip admitted “it seemed like every loose ball he was hovering up.”
Indeed, the statistics confirm that O’Donnell was dominant at the breakdown with 14 tackles (only Donnacha Ryan made more) and a couple of turnovers.
Labelled as a ‘dynamic’ player by Schmidt, the loss of O’Donnell is a blow but with Rhys Ruddock also ruled out of the tournament, how do Ireland’s options in the back-row look now?
The battle for places all over the pitch is fierce and with the warm-up games coming thick and fast, it will surely intensify as the clock ticks down closer to 19 September.
Schmidt’s decision has been probably made a lot more straight forward with today’s news.
Barring injury, Jamie Heaslip, Peter O’Mahony and Sean O’Brien will all travel so that leaves two, maybe three, spaces up for grabs in the back-row.
Jordi Murphy did his chances no harm with a string of impressive performances during the Six Nations while Chris Henry continues to work his way back from his lay-off.
Numbers wise, Ireland’s options are plentiful with Schmidt leaving Dominic Ryan, Robbie Diack, Roger Wilson and Robin Copeland all on the periphery.
Jack Conan
Conan is the youngest and least experienced of the seven back-row options currently in camp but he forced his way into the reckoning with some authoritative performances for Emerging Ireland in the Tbilisi Cup.
The 23-year-old’s preferred position is No 8 but the Leinster forward is versatile and coming off the back of a standout season with the province, is ready to step up to the plate and prove his worth.
You feel this World Cup has come too soon for Conan but a call-up tells you the high-regard he’s held in by Schmidt.
Chris Henry
Henry was introduced as a second-half substitute against Wales on Saturday and did his chances of inclusion no harm with an eye-catching cameo. Although he was rather unfortunately sin-binned for a perceived breakdown offence, Henry reminded Schmidt of his credentials.
That he’s in the running for a place in the squad is remarkable after a career threatening lay-off. Ten months after undergoing surgery to remove a blocked blood vessel on his brain, Henry’s comeback has been extraordinary.
A return to the green jersey against the Barbarians in May allowed Henry to force his way into the coach’s thinking as he demonstrated his excellence and leadership qualities at openside.
Jordi Murphy
The Leinster forward played the full 80 minutes in the Welsh capital as he went about his business quietly, yet effectively. Strong defensively, Murphy has established himself over the last few months – particularly after a strong Six Nations campaign – and his versatility is another string to his bow.
The 24-year-old has been deployed across the back-row in a green jersey and will be extremely unlucky to miss out.
Schmidt’s options are plentiful and the head coach has a wealth of options at his disposal but with a couple of warm-up games remaining, there’s still opportunity for those in the frame to further their chances.
Ireland have until 31 August to submit their final 31-man squad.
Who would you bring?
