O’Sullivan Ready for Kiwis

by Cathal Dervan

IRELAND coach Eddie O’Sullivan has shuffled his deck ahead of Saturday’s mouth-watering season opener against New Zealand at Lansdowne Road and appointed flanker Simon Easterby as his new captain.

The Lions star resumes battle with the All-Blacks just two weeks after breaking his nose on Heineken Cup duty with his Welsh club, but Easterby is fit to play.

“I’ve had the operation. I have taken a full part in training and I am raring to go,” said Easterby.

Center Shane Horgan is also fit for Ireland and will partner Gordon D’Arcy in the absence of the injured Brian O’Driscoll.

The big talking point is the exclusion of veteran number eight Anthony Foley, who fails to make even the replacements bench for the game. Instead O’Sullivan has turned to Munster rookie Denis Leamy at the back of the scrum.

O’Sullivan has no worries about Easterby’s fitness. “We waited until the last minute today before picking Simon because we had to get medical clearance,” he said.

“He had a scan yesterday and the specialist has given him the go-ahead. He’s just come off the training field and is good to go.

“I said I’d go with the form team and that applies to the back row we’ve selected. All three players are good on the ball and are good defenders. It’s the best combination we have available.”

New Zealand coach Graham Henry has made a complete change to his team for the second game of their Northern Hemisphere tour, which means no place at Lansdowne Road for bad boy Tana Umaga.

Hooker Keven Mealamu, the other player involved in the spear tackle on O’Driscoll in the opening test against the Lions, is included, however, and should receive an interesting welcome.

Prop John Afoa and lock Chris Eaton earn test debuts against Ireland after sitting out last Saturday’s emphatic win over Wales in Cardiff.

Ireland team: G. Murphy (Leicester); T. Bowe (Ulster), G. D’Arcy (Leinster), S. Horgan (Leinster), A. Horgan (Munster), R. O’Gara (Munster), P. Stringer (Munster), M. Horan (Munster), S. Byrne (Saracens), J. Hayes (Munster), D. O’Callaghan (Munster), M. O’Kelly (Leinster), S. Easterby (Llanelli, capt.), J. O’Connor (Wasps), D. Leamy (Munster).

Replacements: R. Best (Ulster), S. Best (Ulster), M. McCullough (Ulster), N. Best (Ulster), K. Campbell (Ulster), D. Humphreys (Ulster), G. Dempsey (Leinster).

New Zealand: McDonald, Howlett, Nonu, Mauger, Sivivatu, Evans, Weepu, Woodcock, Mealamu, Afoa, Eaton, Williams, Lauaki, McCaw, Tuiali’i. Replacements: Hoare, Taumoepeau, Hayman, Jack, So’oialo, Cowan, Muliaina.

Wales Hammered

WALES were hammered 41-3 by New Zealand in Cardiff on Saturday, but their captain Gareth Thomas believes Ireland can frighten the All-Blacks at Lansdowne Road on Saturday.

“No team is invincible. They are an absolutely superb team and are probably playing the best rugby in the world at the moment — but I am sure Ireland, England and Scotland, when they put on their national jerseys, believe that they can win,” he said.

Irish full-back Geordan Murphy admitted in his BBC Sport online column that the tourists will take some beating at Lansdowne on Saturday. He wrote, “New Zealand looked really awesome against Wales, didn’t they? I didn’t spot too many weaknesses against Wales and it’s very tough to know whether they can be beaten.

“They are obviously the best side in the world and it is going to be very difficult for Ireland. I heard some people saying that Wales really didn’t play but I felt they did play some good rugby and kept up with the pace of the game.”

Munster Wins

MUNSTER won hurling’s Railway Cup in Boston on Sunday with Cork star John Gardiner adamant that the tournament still means something to the players involved.

“We’re delighted with this,” said the winning captain.

“This means an awful lot to us. We knew the game would be hell for leather, but we wanted it really badly. You can take great pride in representing your county but this just goes to another level.

“We played against the wind in the first half and took a lot of our win from that period. It’s huge for the players and this competition is flying again.”

Duddy Wins

JOHN Duddy, Irish middleweight contender, moved his record to a perfect 13-0 with a fourth round TKO over Canadian challenger Byron Mackie in New York on Friday night.

Duddy has knocked out 12 of his opponents, and was in total control last Friday at the Hammerstein.

O’Rourke’s Offer

AUSSIE Rules side Brisbane have made an offer to Meath youngster Shane O’Rourke, son of legendary forward Colm.

Laois pair Colm Begley and Brendan Quigley have already agreed to join the Lions and Colm O’Rourke admitted: “The offer made to Shane is enticing.

“I’m reluctant to comment on the offer other than to say that I’d prefer if Shane pursued his college education in Ireland first.”

GAA Shorts

JOHN Maughan is the new manager of the Roscommon senior footballers. The appointment of the former Mayo, Fermanagh and Clare boss was confirmed at a meeting of the Roscommon County Board on Monday night . . .

PAUL McGrane’s appointment as the new captain of the Armagh footballers was confirmed on Sunday night with former skipper Kieran McGeeney opting to concentrate on his own game next year after four seasons in the job . . .

FORMER Dublin midfielder Paul Bealin is the shock choice as the new manager of the Wexford footballers and has signed a three year deal with the county board . . .

LAOIS boss Mick O’Dwyer has appointed Gerry Loftus as team trainer for 2006. Loftus previously worked with Meath . . .

JOHN Kennedy is to take charge of the Kerry minor footballers after a spell as boss of the Clare senior team . . .

CARLOW have re-appointed Eoin Garvey as manager of their senior hurling team for 2006 . . .

A KNEE injury has forced Antrim defender Gearoid Adams to quit inter-county football.

Fight Off

KEVIN McBride’s proposed fight with British and Commonwealth heavyweight Matt Skelton in London next month is definitely off.

McBride’s trainer Pascal Collins revealed, “Kevin is not fighting Skelton. We couldn’t agree terms and Kevin will look to have a fight in Boston before Christmas and then he will be hoping to get a world title fight.

“Kevin is in great shape after four weeks sparring with Hasim Rahman, who was getting ready to fight Vitali Klitschko for the world title before Klitschko got injured. He should box in Boston and we should be doing a deal with King very soon because we know that he can get us a world title shot.

“John Ruiz defends his WBA heavyweight title against Nicolay Valuev in Germany before Christmas and Kevin would hopefully get a shot at the winner.”