Ireland makes wholesale changes to take on Russia in next encounter - Rugby World Cup news
Ireland has featured 10 changes in its starting lines to take on Russia in their upcoming encounter of Rugby World Cup 2011 in Rotorua International Stadium on September 25. The Irish side is flying high after thumping the Wallabies by 15-9 last week and
has decided to rest a number of key players in order to keep them fresh for tough matches. Their head coach, Declan Kidney, announced a new looking Irish team on September 23 and said some of his players deserved the rest after a splendid effort against Australia.
The regular skipper of Ireland, Brain O’Driscoll, along with Gordon D’Arcy and Paul O’Connell has been given a rest. Leo Cullen, who will replace injured Paul O’Connell has been given charge of captaincy in the absence of O’Driscoll.
Andrew Trimble is going to be deployed at the left wing position whereas Isaac Boss and Ronan O’Gara are likely to be given the roles of fly-halves. Among players who retained their previous roles from the Wallabies clash are James Heaslip, Sean O’Brien,
Cian Healy, Donncha O'Callaghan and Robert Kearney.
Defending his decision of making huge changes in his team, Kidney said that it was the right time to include some new faces in the Irish team. He added that, “There was a need to freshen it up because we had a big Test match against Australia last Saturday.
The lads coming in will bring freshness and enthusiasm.”
Kidney further stated that, “The good thing about touring and tournaments is that the guys in the squad already know the calls. This is the players' World Cup and they'll only buy into that if they get a chance to show themselves.”
Irish squad to meet Russia is lined up as under:
Ireland: Robert Kearney, Fergus McFadden, Keith Earls, Paddy Wallace, Andrew Trimble, Ronan O'Gara, Isaac Boss, Jamie Heaslip, Sean O'Brien, Donnacha Ryan, Leo Cullen (capt), Donncha O'Callaghan, Tony Buckley, Sean Cronin, Cian Healy.
Reserves: Rory Best, Mike Ross, Denis Leamy, Shane Jennings, Eoin Reddan, Jonathan Sexton, Geordan Murphy.
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