Healy Sidelined For Sunday Showdown With USA
Ireland team manager Paul McNaughton has confirmed that prop Cian Healy will play no part in the opening Pool C match against the USA on Sunday.
Cian Healy suffered an eye socket injury in the recent defeat to England which delayed his departure for the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
He arrived in Queenstown on Monday but has not fully recovered from the injury in time for the eagerly-awaited tournament opener in New Plymouth.
“Cian won’t be playing at the weekend. He won’t resume contact work until the weekend, which was the original prognosis, so he won’t be available for the USA game but will be available for the Australia game,” explained team manager Paul McNaughton.
“He’s been able to do a couple of scrums but not as much as normal.”
Other than Healy, Declan Kidney and the management team have a full hand to choose from for the clash with the Americans. The team and replacements will be announced on Friday at 1.15pm local time/2.15am Irish time.
McNaughton added: “Everybody else is fit and strong and available for selection, including Rob (Kearney), Sean (O’Brien) and Gordon D’Arcy.”
Meanwhile, members of the Ireland squad will be present at Friday’s launch of the New Plymouth Fanzone. The event will take place at Puke Ariki, Taranaki’s combined museum and library, on the New Plymouth waterfront, starting at 7pm.
All official Rugby World Cup Fanzones are free to enter and are a great place to watch the match with other fans. Many Fanzones will also feature live entertainment before and after the games.
Follow the Ireland team in New Zealand on www.twitter.com/irfurugby.