Murphy's law hits the Irish

By DAVID LEGGAT

The luck of the Irish was sadly missing when the men from the Emerald Isle finished their Cup preparation with a convincing win over the lacklustre Scots at Murrayfield last month.

They lost enterprising fullback Geordan Murphy, his Cup dreams shattered by a broken leg.

Given that they are grouped in a demanding pool, it was just what coach Eddie O'Sullivan did not need.

Next to the dazzling Brian O'Driscoll, Murphy was Ireland's most threatening attacker and offered something above the vim and vigour usually associated with their rugby.

"I thought he was in fantastic form and I think he would have been one of the stars of the World Cup," O'Sullivan said.

"His class, his pace and his agility would have shown through on the hard grounds of Australia."

Ireland have made the quarter-finals in three of the four Cups, missing out in the odd system employed in 1999 to Argentina, whereby a playoff round was used to sort out the final eight.

Ireland are also used to facing Australia, having met and lost to them in the quarter-finals of the first two tournaments, the second, achingly, 19-18, at Lansdowne Road. If England are the Six Nations' most formidable team, the French are not far behind, while the Irish are clearly the best of the rest.

Their rugby has for decades been based around buckets of fire and brimstone, which tended to go out after an hour, and the occasional dazzling gem, such as Jackie Kyle or Mike Gibson.

The most vivid example of that fire-in-the-belly approach came at the haka before New Zealand's test at Lansdowne Road in 1989, when Irish captain Willie Anderson steadily shuffled his players towards the All Blacks in an aggressive fashion. The Irish then gave it what-for for an hour before the All Blacks eased clear.

The Irish now are certainly a more rounded team and will take some decent form into the tournament.

O'Driscoll, arguably the game's best No 13, is the standard-bearer for this team.

Widely rated as the best centre in the world, his acceleration off the mark and ability to beat a defender is unmatched.

His midfield partnership with the muscular Kevin Maggs - the rapier and the bludgeon - will be critical to Ireland's ambitions.

David Humphreys is a gifted goalkicker, and in Malcolm O'Kelly, Eric Miller, Gary Longwell and the talismanic, shaven-headed hooker Keith Wood there is a core of experienced, hard-nosed forwards. Keith Gleeson, born in Dublin, raised in Australia, is a hard-working mobile No 7.

The Irish won't fear Australia but depending on the outcome of their clash with Argentina, it could be the Melbourne showdown with the hosts on November 1 which decides which team pack their bags early.

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