O'Driscoll on mend but fears for Stringer

Ireland were last night

hopeful that their captain

Brian O’Driscoll will be fit to

face France on Sunday.

But while a scan revealed

that the centre’s hamstring

strain was not as serious as

first feared, scrum half

Peter Stringer has suffered

a hairline fracture in his

right hand.

The

Munsterman will take no

part in training until later

this week amid fears he will

be forced out of the Croke

Park curtain-raiser. In that

event, Isaac Boss of Ulster

would step in.

O’Driscoll’s strain, picked up

in the second half of

Sunday’s 19-9 win over

Wales, has been confirmed

as "mild" but he still remains

a doubt.

With wing Shane

Horgan already sidelined,

losing the Lions skipper

would be a devastating

blow to Ireland’s RBS Six

Nations title prospects.

Coach Eddie O’Sullivan

would have to consider

switching Andrew Trimble

or Geordan Murphy to the

midfield, or perhaps Barry

Murphy of Munster, who

was one of 10 players called

up as cover on Monday night.

While Stringer will be

re-assessed on Friday and

O’Driscoll, 28, the following

day, Gordon D’Arcy’s groin

strain has responded well

to treatment and he is

expected to be fit.

Ireland will be monitored

closely by the match

officials on Sunday after

Wales complained about

"cynical" ball-killing tactics

at the Millennium Stadium.

Despite commanding

possession for long periods,

the home side were stifled

by what they saw as

consistent infringements by

O’Sullivan’s "streetwise"

men at rucks and mauls.

However, their concerns

were noted by Kiwi touch

judge Steve Walsh, who will

referee Ireland’s match

against France. He

witnessed enough

examples of green-shirted

skulduggery to promise a

clampdown at Croke Park.

Nigel Davies, the Welsh

assistant coach, said

yesterday: "Brian O’Driscoll

and Gordon D’Arcy in

particular are very good

exponents in the contact

area but, in my view, quite

illegal at times.

"The referee

did call on a couple of

occasions for [Irish] players

to move away but when

they didn’t move away he

didn’t react. I think he must

have left his yellow card in

the changing room.

"Steve Walsh said to one of

the Wales coaches after the

game that he will be very

mindful of that area next

week after seeing Ireland

in that first half."

Wales hooker Rhys Thomas

claimed his team should

have had a penalty try

when Ireland deliberately

pulled down a rolling maul.

But he revealed a certain

grudging admiration for

the visitors’ methods,

adding: "It was really

cynical but they played the

ref really well."

Gareth Jenkins has delayed

until Tuesday lunchtime

the announcement of his

Wales team to face

Scotland at Murrayfield on

Saturday to allow Mark

Jones, Shane Williams and

Tom Shanklin extra time to

recover full fitness.

France have recalled Sale

hooker Sebastien Bruno to

their 22 against Ireland. He

replaces the injured Dimitri

Szarzewski, while David

Marty steps in for Florian

Fritz at centre, another

casualty of the 39-3 win

over Italy in Rome.