Iain Henderson appears set to stand in for Peter O'Mahony should the Irish management decide the Munster flanker would be better served by another week's rest before probably returning to the Irish side for their final game in Paris on Saturday week when the team to face Italy this Saturday is announced today. Conceivably, this might be the only change from the starting XV which faced England.
Final decisions regarding the well being of O’Mahony, who picked up hamstring and shoulder injuries against England, and Johnny Sexton, who damaged ligaments in his thumb, will not be made until today, but all the indications are that the Irish management share Sexton’s desire to play.
“Joe is going to make those final calls but I’m sure that if Johnny is available he’ll play,” ventured Irish forwards coach John Plumtree on Wednesday, and he also revealed the extent to which Sexton himself is itching to face the Azzzurri on Saturday (kick-off 2.30pm).
"Johnny by his standards wouldn't have been happy with his performance against England and he's dying to get out there."
Additional baggage
By contrast, the vibes emanating from the camp, and Plumtree, are that they are less sure about O'Mahony, with Henderson having replaced the Munster flanker 10 minutes from time in Twickenham and in training this week. If this comes to pass, it seems unlikely that Henderson would have the additional baggage of covering lock, in which case Donnacha Ryan and Mike McCarthy would be vying for a place on the bench.
In the absence of the unlucky Tommy O’Donnell, Jordi Murphy’s versatility and place on the bench at Twickeham as cover for eight and seven will perhaps give him the nod over Rhys Ruddock given he is more of a specialist blindside.
Joe Schmidt would, by nature, be of a mind to make further changes, and might well be considering whether to reinstate Eoin Reddan at scrumhalf for example, to quicken up the tempo of Ireland's game in what is something of a trademark selection – given his history of preferring Reddan for home games in the Heineken Cup and the more physical Isaac Boss for away games.
Similarly, he might well be of a mind to promote one or two more off his bench, such as Fergus McFadden on the right wing.
Face value
However, Plumtree hinted that Mike Ross would be retained and if taken at face value, a possible change at blindside with Henderson called in for a less than 100 per cent O'Mahony would be the only alteration to the starting XV at Twickenham. "If there's going to be changes I would say it's going to be forced."
Italian coach Jacques Brunel will also unveil his hand tomorrowe. Italy were decidedly unlucky to lose at home to Scotland, not least given Chris Cusiter’s final try-scoring offload to Alex Dunbar was clearly forward despite the TMO’s judgement to the contrary, before then losing to an 80th-minute drop goal by Duncan Weir.
They have since been hit by the loss of Alessandro Zanni, who has been such a stalwart of the Azzurri that he has been an ever-present for their last 58 tests. Furthermore, they are again without the rejuvenated Mauro Bergamasco while, as has been custom in this Six Nations, inspirational captain and number eight Sergio Parisse has not been able to train so far this week due to a back problem which has confined him to pool work and physiotherapy.
The expectation is that lock Joshua Furno, who scored his first test try in the defeat to Scotland, will revert to blindside flanker, with the experienced Marco Bortolami restored to the secondrow and Robert Barbieri at blindside. The deficit in leadership should partly be offset by a recall for the 32-year-old Andrea Masi for his 81st test, though given Luke McLean’s fine form and huge left boot from fullback, perhaps at inside centre rather than fullback.
