On the ditch

So Eddie has named the team to line-out against Italy, and changes have been kept to a minimum to say the least. O’Sullivan has remained loyal to the World Cup players, this despite admitting that he has some concern over the form of key players like Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy.

So do we have a chance in this competition? Or is the team’s time in the sun over and done without them achieving anything of outstanding note?

Perhaps that is a little harsh, think of all those Triple Crowns, but it is hard to say anything else after that world cup performance.

Ireland V Italy:
15 Girvan Dempsey, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Brian O’Driscoll, (capt), 12 Gordon D’Arcy, 11 Geordan Murphy, 10 Ronan O’Gara, 9 Eoin Reddan.

1 Marcus Horan, 2, Rory Best, 3 John Hayes, 4, Donnacha O’Callaghan, 5 Malcolm O’Kelly, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 David Wallace, 8 Denis Leamy.

Replacements: 16, Bernard Jackman, 17, Tony Buckley, 18 Mick O’Driscoll, 19, Jamie Heaslip, 20, Peter Stringer, 21, Paddy Wallace, 22 Robert Kearney.

Other bloggers on the team selection include:
UnLaoised ; 22 DropOut.com ; All Smoke and Mirrors

Tags: 6nations08, Brian O'Driscoll, Eddie O'Sullivan, Gordon D'Arcy, Ireland V Italy, Six Nations, team selection