Jonathan Sexton has been ruled out of Ireland’s Six Nations clash against France on Saturday while Paddy Jackson is also a fitness concern.
bbc
Declan Kidney has left a vacancy at fly-half with Sexton not having fully recovered from his injury and Jackson a concern because of a tight hamstring.
However, Jackson is expected to be available for Saturday’s game.
With Ulster’s Craig Gilroy ruled out by a groin injury, Leinster utility back Fergus McFadden is named at wing.
McFadden will offer a further kicking option for the Irish after Jackson’s struggles at Murrayfield although uncapped Leinster player Ian Madigan is also in contention to start at fly-half.
As expected, Cian Healy and Mike McCarthy replace Tom Court and Donncha O’Callaghan in the pack after missing the Scotland defeat in a side that shows three changes from the last outing.
The replacements bench has fly-half and tight-head prop vacancies.
With Ronan O’Gara omitted from the initial 32-man squad on Sunday, that left Sexton, Jackson and Madigan as the three fly-half options.
When asked about Jackson’s prospects of being fit, Kidney described them as “very good” but the Ireland coach later said that Madigan was also being considered for the starting number 10 role.
“He (Jackson) should be good to go for training again on Thursday,” added the Ireland coach.
Kidney added that Sexton had trained at “full speed” on Tuesday morning but that the management had opted against risking the Lions prospect.
Sexton missed the Murrayfield game after sustaining a hamstring injury in Ireland’s home defeat by England.
“Just before I walked in the decision was taken to withdraw Johnny Sexton but that Paddy will be good to go at training on Thursday,” added Kidney at the team announcement.
“Paddy trained in the position yesterday, Ian trained there this morning and I’m sure they’ll both be available on Thursday and we’ll then make the call.”
Kidney was repeated asked about O’Gara’s omission from the Ireland squad and the coach insisted that he could yet turn again to the veteran Munster fly-half in the future.
In theory, that could come as soon as Thursday if Jackson is ruled out of Saturday’s match but the Irish management appears confident that the Ulster youngster will be passed fit.
“Absolutely not would I mind asking Ronan back, I’d be delighted. There was no fun whatsoever in leaving him out,” said the Ireland coach.
“I’d only be too delighted. It wouldn’t be an awkward conversation from my side, absolutely not.”
With Declan Fitzpatrick ruled out by a calf injury, the tight-head prop replacement slot is left vacant with Munster’s Stephen Archer and Leinster’s Michael Bent the players in contention to be drafted on to the bench.
Andrew Trimble’s hopes of having his first involvement in this season’s Six Nations have been dashed after Luke Fitzgerald was retained in the replacements.
Both Sexton and Gilroy are expected to be in contention for Ireland’s final Six Nations game against Italy on 16 March.
Ireland
15 Rob Kearney , 14 Fergus McFadden , 13 Brian O’Driscoll , 12 Luke Marshall , 11 Keith Earls , 10 A.N. Other , 9 Conor Murray , 8 Jamie Heaslip (capt) , 7 Sean O’Brien, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Donnacha Ryan , 4 Mike McCarthy , 3 Mike Ross , 2 Rory Best ,1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin , 17 David Kilcoyne , 18 A.N. Other , 19 Donncha O’Callaghan , 20 Iain Henderson , 21 Eoin Reddan , 22 A.N. Other , 23 Luke Fitzgerald
Pushy Steve Walsh and the whistle of prejudice
Mark Reason
The voice of reason
Almost 12 months ago I suggested that Steve Walsh was a referee who let his personality get in the way of his impartiality. Some of you were outraged by such a suggestion. Yet here we go again. Walsh again blew away the Hurricanes last weekend and is now set to referee the deciding matches of the Six Nations.
This weekend he referees Ireland v France and next weekend he takes charge of Wales v England. The only people happy about this will be the Super 15 teams and coaches, because yet again Walsh leaves the Southern Hemisphere in a cloud of controversy.
Last weekend Walsh made a couple of bad calls that cost the Hurricanes the match against the Reds. He also shoved the Canes captain Conrad Smith – who does throw his arms in the air rather too much – out of the way.
The reaction of Lyndon Bray, the SANZAR refs boss, to these incidents was astonishing. He said that Walsh got decisions wrong, thereby undermining one of his top officials, but said that the push was an accident.
“It’s just one of those things that happens on a rugby field,” said Bray, “accidental contact between the two, because they’re both getting into exactly the same spot at the same time.”
This last statement is nonsense. The Hurricanes leadership did the right thing by downplaying the incident, but Bray should have taken action. The push was forceful enough to be dismissive. Smith certainly knew he couldn’t react in the same way.
What happens if refs start shoving players down at your club this weekend. At certain places there would be a riot. Players in all sports are rightly not allowed to touch the ref, but the same standards should apply the other way round. Instead Bray has effectively sanctioned the use of physical force.
And so Walsh’s list of misdemeanours grows. In 2003 he was suspended after an altercation with England’s fitness coach Dave Reddin. In 2005 he verbally abused Lions winger Shane Horgan. In 2010 Matt Giteau was fined Aus$5,000 after wondering what the point was in turning up if Walsh was again put in charge of a Brumbies game. Incidentally, Bray pre-empted that fine, commenting ahead of the disciplinary hearing that it would be ‘nice’ if Giteau were suspended.
And now this latest storm.
It is clear that refs should not be put in charge of other refs. It is like putting the cops in charge of police enquiries. They look after their own. Rugby should move toward a far more independent system of review, like they have in cricket with the match referee.
It is also clear that Walsh should not have been put in charge of these two matches at the sharp end of the Six Nations. One of them was always going to be a decider. And it would be ‘nice’ if the players took that decision rather than the ref.