Irish await O'Driscoll's arrival
Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:56
The Ireland team arrived in New Zealand on Sunday and confirmed captain Brian O'Driscoll will join the squad in time for the one-off Test against the All Blacks in Wellington on Saturday.
Geordan Murphy and Eoin Reddan, who played in the Guinness Premiership Final for Leicester Tigers and London Wasps respectively at the weekend, will also arrive in New Zealand this week - allowing stand-in coach Michael Bradley to select his side from a full squad.
O'Driscoll's availability had been in doubt after he was a late withdrawal from the Ireland team that beat the Barbarians 39-14 last week, following the death of a close friend.
But Bradley said O'Driscoll, Murphy and Reddan were on their way to New Zealand, and their lateness should not affect match plans.
"They will be at Tuesday's training session or Thursday's," he said.
"Brian was with us right up until the Baa-Baas [Barbarians] match and Geordan and Eion were involved in the Six Nations [when] the systems were in place.
"They're smart rugby players and they'll do their homework for our match on Saturday, so it's not really an issue for us."
The Irish, drawing heavily from European Cup champions Munster, rate their chances high for Saturday's clash as the All Blacks rebuild after losing nearly half their World Cup squad from last year.
On their two-Test southern hemisphere tour, the Irish play Australia in Melbourne a week after the All Blacks Test before returning home where Munster's coach Declan Kidney will take over the team.
AFP
