Quinlan Facing Fitness Fight

Alan Quinlan faces a battle to be fit in time for Ireland’s second test against Australia and could return early if he is deemed not fit to be considered for the second game of Ireland’s tour.

Ulster backrow Stephen Ferris has been called into the squad as a precaution for Quinlan who continues to recover from the thigh injury (dead leg) that he pickd up in training.  Ferris has been pulled out of the A team for the Churchill Cup tournament and will meet up
with the rest of the Ireland squad in Melbourne this Sunday.

Meanwhile centre Luke Fitzgerald has been withdrawn from the team to play New Zealand in Wellington this Saturday.  Fitzgerald had been carrying an ankle injury and was named in the team on Tuesday, but his recovery was not as expected and  the Ireland
management were left with no option but to withdraw him from the team for Saturday.

Fitzgerald’s place in the centre has been taken by Paddy Wallace, who moves up from the bench, with Geordan Murphy named among the replacements in place of Wallace who said, “While obviously disappointed for Luke, I was delighted to get the word from  that I would be starting the game. You never want to benefit from somebody else’s misfortune, but playing against the All Blacks is going to be a huge challenge as they are the top team in the world and have some superb players across the park. You always want to test yourself against the best, so this weekend is going to be a big game.”

“I have been playing a lot of my rugby in the centres for Ulster this season,” continued Wallace, “so I don’t have any concerns about being able to slot into the position with Brian (O’Driscoll).  He has so much experience and is one the top players in the world, so hopefully it should be a smooth transition for us.  We have had a couple of training sessions to work on systems and patterns together, so I think we have prepared quite well.”