What happens if Ireland have injuries at fullback or openside?
First, we heard that Italy had lost key man Edoardo Padovani. Then last weekend, we saw the miserable sight of Wallabies tighthead Allan Ala’alatoa being carted off during his side’s defeat to the All Blacks. It looked bad and conformation soon followed. Achilles tendon rupture. Ruled out of the World Cup.
Ross Byrne now has 19 Test caps and got valuable experience with five appearances during this year’s Six Nations. While Jack Crowley still only has three caps, he is seen as a coming force. With Sexton suspended, Byrne and Crowley will have chances in Ireland’s three warm-up games, which should prove beneficial. But still, Sexton staying injury-free for Ireland’s World Cup campaign appears pivotal.The other place to focus on is fullback, where Hugo Keenan has been virtually ever-present.
O’Brien started at number 15 against Fiji in the 2022 November Tests, a maiden international campaign in which he excelled at outside centre, fullback, and on the wing.Stockdale is still in the wider squad but hasn’t had a start for Ireland or Ulster at 15 for the past two seasons. In fact, he hasn’t worn the green jersey since the summer of 2021.
Connors has been cruelly unlucky with injury since the 2021 Six Nations and though he returned for Leinster last season, it was too late to force his way into World Cup contention. If van der Flier is injured, it seems certain that O’Mahony would move to number seven in a back row that would also include Caelan Doris and Jack Conan. While O’Mahony is clearly a different player to van der Flier, those are three high-quality back rows.
At loosehead, Andrew Porter’s importance continues to grow. While he will be aiming to improve his discipline after a frustrating Six Nations in that regard, his power and mobility have him well ahead of his competition.
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