Ireland at Their Best for Wales

Ireland will enter their World Cup quarter-final against Wales with Rory Best at hooker after the Ulster front row won his injury battle.

Best has been passed fit after receiving intensive treatment on the shoulder problem sustained against Italy last Sunday and will start tomorrow’s clash at Wellington Regional Stadium.

“Rory’s come up great and is fine to start the game,” said defence coach Les Kiss.

“We obviously had some precautions in place ready to cover him if he failed to pull through, but he’s in tip top shape so full credit to him and the medics.”

Ireland, unbeaten throughout the World Cup, are rated marginal favourites to win the first of the day’s two quarter-finals.

Both sides have been in superb form and if the weather holds – some rain is expected – it promises to be a gripping encounter between the RBS 6 Nations rivals.

“This game is absolutely massive for both team. We spoke earlier about what it would be mean to people back home if we won,” said Kiss.

“We want to reach a place we’ve never been before. We’ve played each other so much that it’s fair to say it’s 50-50.

“There will be critical pressure moments and it will be a 60-minutes plus game. The last 20 minutes will sort it out.

“It’s a hard one to pick. There’s been a lot of talk about the South Africa and Australia quarter being the game of the round, but watch this game.

“It’s going to a real ding-dong battle but we’re happy with the way our defence has gone.

“Wales have some interesting threats across the park, which are a little bit different to what Australia offer when we played them in the pool.

“They have a good bunch of guys who are playing good rugby.”

Number eight Jamie Heaslip believes Ireland’s superior experience of knockout games through the success of Munster and Leinster in the Heineken Cup must be brought to bear.

“We have the experience of playing against Wales every year in the Six Nations, but all bets are off in a knockout competition,” said Heaslip.

“Sometimes it’s not the best team that wins, it’s the team who knows how to win that succeeds.

“We have to draw on the experience of playing at knockout stages of the Heineken Cup.

“We’ve won four of the last six Heineken Cups and it’s important to make that experience count. The core of the team are made up of those players.”

Kidney Names Best for Wales Clash

Ireland have included injury doubt Rory Best in their starting line-up as they name an unchanged team for the World Cup quarter-final against Wales.

Best injured his shoulder during the 36-6 Pool C win over Italy on Sunday.

The hooker's AC joint is responding well to treatment, but Sean Cronin is on standby to start should the Ulster player fail to prove his fitness.

Ireland coach Declan Kidney said: "The decision could go right to the end, we'll make it when we have to make it."

Kidney said the hooker was making "great progress" but added: "I wouldn't want to tempt fate by rating Rory's chances, but he's not ruled out, which is always the first sign.

"He had a good day yesterday (Tuesday) which everyone was very positive about."

Ronan O'Gara and Conor Murray retain their places at half-back after impressing during the comprehensive win over the Azzurri, with Jonathan Sexton and Eoin Reddan - who had started the tournament as the first-choice half-back pairing - on the bench.

Kidney said the battle for the outside-half and scrum-half spots was the "most competitive area" in the team.

"I know it's unconventional to use different half-backs at different times," said Kidney.

"When they've been on the pitch they've brought their own things to it.

"For example, Jonathan was hugely strong for us in defence in the last 10 minutes against Italy. Eoin robbed two great balls for us in the last 10-15 minutes.

"Leaving them out isn't easy, but Conor and Ronan have gone quite well for us."

Ireland have beaten Wales in nine of their previous 12 meetings, although Wales won the most recent encounter between the two nations after a controversial victory at this year's Six Nations.

Kidney believed Warren Gatland's men had added unpredictability to their attacking play, making them more dangerous opponents.

"They're showing different trends in the way they play, but are more unpredictable than before," he said.

"If it was possible to read them before, it's more difficult now."

Ireland: R Kearney (Leinster); T Bowe (Ospreys), B O'Driscoll (Leinster, capt), G D'Arcy (Leinster), K Earls (Munster); R O'Gara (Munster), C Murray (Munster); C Healy (Leinster), R Best (Ulster) or S Cronin (Leinster), M Ross (Leinster), D O'Callaghan (Munster), P O'Connell (Munster), S Ferris (Ulster), S O'Brien (Leinster), J Heaslip (Leinster). 

Replacements: S Cronin (Leinster) or D Varley (Munster), T Court (Ulster), D Ryan (Munster), D Leamy (Munster), E Reddan (Leinster), J Sexton (Leinster), A Trimble (Ulster).

Ireland Reach RWC Quarter-finals

Ireland will face Wales in the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday after trouncing Italy to top Pool C.

Three Ronan O'Gara penalties helped the Irish to a 9-6 half-time lead and their complete second-half dominance was rewarded with three well-worked tries.

Brian O'Driscoll touched down for the first and then birthday boy Keith Earls scored two tries.

O'Gara kicked a further penalty and two conversions, while Jonathan Sexton landed one penalty and a conversion.

Mirco Bergamasco kicked Italy's only points with two first-half penalties.

O'Gara eased early Irish nerves with a seventh-minute penalty but Bergamasco levelled the scores by slotting over his first kick at the posts three minutes later.

As both packs battled for supremacy, Ireland were awarded another penalty when Mauro Bergamasco was penalised at the breakdown, but O'Gara's effort cannonned off the upright.

The Irish fly-half was successful with his next attempt in the 16th minute however after Italy offended at a line-out.

Ireland's advantage lasted only three minutes as they were penalised for collapsing at the ruck and Bergamasco knocked over his second penalty to restore parity.

There was controversy soon after when hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini appeared to make contact with the eyes of Irish hooker Cian Healy but referee Jonathan Kaplan did not see the incident.

Kaplan was the centre of attention on the half-hour when he disallowed a Tommy Bowe try for a forward pass by Sean O'Brien, a decision which looked dubious when viewed on replays.

O'Gara nudged his side ahead again with his third penalty after Italy were pulled up for being offside at a ruck.

Italy squandered an opportunity to draw level just before the interval after Paul O'Connell was penalised for not rolling away.

Bergamasco hit the upright with the resulting penalty.

Ireland started the second half in impressive fashion and O'Gara knocked over his fourth penalty in the 43rd minute.

An audacious drop-goal attempt by O'Gara then went wide of the posts as Ireland tried to make their territorial dominance count.

O'Driscoll scored the first try of the game in the 47th minute when he ran in under the posts after anticipating and accepting a deft inside pass from Bowe, who had broken through the Italian defence.

O'Gara converted to increase his side's lead to 13 points.

Winger Earls touched down for Ireland's second try five minutes later.

Gordon D'Arcy fended off a series of attempted Italian tackles and passed to charging flanker Stephen Ferris, who offloaded for Earls to score in the corner.

O'Gara continued his excellent kicking form by adding the conversion.

Rob Kearney almost grabbed the third try when he made a dive for the corner but the television match official ruled that he had been held up short of the line.

Ireland lost Rory Best with a collarbone injury and O'Connell with a hamstring problem, but continued to outplay their opponents.

Sexton knocked his penalty between the posts soon after replacing O'Gara.

Bowe just failed to touch down for a try but Earls celebrated his 24th birthday in style by scoring his second in the final minute after a break from replacement Andrew Trimble.

Sexton added a difficult conversion from near the touchline to complete a special night for the Irish.

Ireland: Kearney, Bowe, O'Driscoll, D'Arcy, Earls, O'Gara, Murray; Healy, Best, Ross, O'Callaghan, O'Connell, Ferris, O'Brien, Heaslip.Replacements: Cronin for Best (53), Ryan for O'Connell (58), Sexton for O'Gara (67), , Court for Healy (72), Leamy for Ferris (72), Reddan for Murray (73), Trimble.

Italy: Masi, Benvenuti, Canale, Garcia, Mirco Bergamasco, Orquera, Semenzato; Perugini, Ghiraldini, Castrogiovanni, Geldenhuys, Van Zyl, Zanni, Mauro Bergamasco, Parisse. Replacements: Lo Cicero for Castrogiovanni (34), Bocchino for Orquera (40), Derbyshire for Mauro Bergamasco (49), Gori for Semenzato (56), Bortolami for van Zyl (61), Ongaro for Ghiraldini (67).

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)

Ireland Face Italy in Sunday Showdown

Ireland complete the pool stages of the Rugby World Cup with an 'all or nothing' showdown with Six Nations rivals Italy. A fourth successive victory would see Declan Kidney's men qualify for the quarter-finals as winners of Pool C.

The team to play Italy on Sunday shows eight personnel changes and one positional switch to the side that started against Russia.

Tommy Bowe comes onto the right wing in place of Fergus McFadden.Team captain Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy link up at centre in place of Paddy Wallace and Keith Earls, with the latter moving to the left wing.

Conor Murray has been selected at scrum half in place of Isaac Boss, and will have his provincial colleague Ronan O'Gara alongside him at half-back.

Hooker Rory Best and prop Mike Ross return to the starting front row, whilePaul O'Connell resumes in the second row at the expense of Leo Cullen,who captained Ireland to victory over Russia.

The final change sees Stephen Ferris named in the back row instead ofDonnacha Ryan, who is listed among the replacements.

Commenting on the selection of the half-backs, head coach Declan Kidneysaid: "Ronan and Conor went well in the last 20 minutes against Australia. Ronan went well against Russia as well.

"This is the right combination for us against Italy. They've played a few times together now. Ronan has been place kicking well, but if Jonathan Sextonwas starting on Sunday it wouldn't worry me.

"I'd hate to go down the road that we're picking Ronan because of his place-kicking. He's too good a player to be saying that about him, while Johnny's place-kicking is not of concern to me."

He added: "Everyone was talking about the Australia game coming into the World Cup, but in our minds we always knew Italy was the big one. Australia was the attractive one to win, Italy was the necessary one to win.

"The law of averages said Australia would beat Italy in the first match. Unless you do a New Zealand and get 15 points from your first three games it was always going to come down to this.

"England and South Africa find themselves in the same situation - three wins from three, yet they are also in cup final situations."

Meanwhile, Italy head coach Nick Mallett has made just one change in personnel for Sunday's crunch clash at Otago Stadium.

Andrea Masi, who was voted the RBS 6 Nations Player of the Year in 2011, has been recalled to the full-back position after recovering from a strained calf muscle.

Luke McLean makes way for Masi and drops to the replacements bench, with Giulio Tonionlatti squeezed out of the matchday squad.

Luciano Orquera, who was a try scorer against the USA, and Fabio Semenzato are the preferred options at half-back, while Salvatore Perugini, Leonardo Ghiraldini and Martin Castrogiovanni combine again in the front row.

The selected Italian panel contains 15 players who got game-time during Italy's 13-11 loss to Ireland in Rome during last season's Six Nations.

Leicester Tigers prop Castrogiovanni is the only player in the squad who does not play his club rugby in either Italy or France.

Looking forward to Sunday's game, Mallett said: "Our whole objective for two years has been to get to this point. If we play really well, which we will have to against a very good team, we have a chance of getting to the quarter-finals.

"And there is a genuine belief that we are getting better. I remember the game (against Ireland last February) clearly because it was very, very disappointing.

"The changing room was very quiet and one of the first occasions I've seen an Italian team really, really disappointed at doing very well against another Six Nations team.

"A lot of times in the past they've been disappointed to lose, but pleased to run the opposition close. This was one of the first times there was genuine disappointment that they hadn't managed to hold out and win that game.

"That's a very good sign because it meant the team had started to believe it wasn't just good enough to be competitive, that it was really important to win tight games."

IRELAND: Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster); Tommy Bowe (Ospreys), Brian O'Driscoll (UCD/Leinster) (capt), Gordon D'Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster), Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster); Ronan O'Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster), Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster), Donncha O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster), Paul O'Connell (Young Munster/Munster), Stephen Ferris (Dungannon/Ulster), Sean O'Brien (Clontarf/Leinster), Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster).

Replacements: Sean Cronin (Leinster), Tom Court (Malone/Ulster), Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster), Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster), Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster), Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary's College/Leinster), Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster).

ITALY: Andrea Masi (Aironi Rugby); Tommaso Benvenuti (Benetton Treviso), Gonzalo Canale (Clermont Auvergne), Gonzalo Garcia (Benetton Treviso), Mirco Bergamasco (Racing Metro 92); Luciano Orquera (Aironi Rugby), Fabio Semenzato (Benetton Treviso); Salvatore Perugini (Aironi Rugby), Leonardo Ghiraldini (Benetton Treviso), Martin Castrogiovanni (Leicester Tigers), Quintin Geldenhuys (Aironi Rugby), Cornelius van Zyl (Benetton Treviso), Alessandro Zanni (Benetton Treviso), Mauro Bergamasco (Stade Francais), Sergio Parisse (Stade Francais) (capt).

Replacements: Fabio Ongaro (Aironi Rugby), Andrea Lo Cicero (Racing Metro 92), Marco Bortolami (Aironi Rugby), Paul Derbyshire (Benetton Treviso), Edoardo Gori (Benetton Treviso), Riccardo Bocchino (Estra I Cavalieri Prato), Luke McLean (Benetton Treviso).

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)

Assistant Referees: Bryce Lawrence, Chris Pollock (both New Zealand)

Television Match Official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Ronan O'Gara Gets Italian Job

The Ireland team to play Italy in the final Rugby World Cup Pool C match this Sunday shows eight personnel changes and one positional switch to the side that started against Russia.

Tommy Bowe comes onto the right wing in place of Fergus McFadden.Team captain Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy link up at centre in place of Paddy Wallace and Keith Earls, with the latter moving to the left wing.

Conor Murray has been selected at scrum half in place of Isaac Boss, and will have his provincial colleague Ronan O'Gara alongside him at half-back.

Hooker Rory Best and prop Mike Ross return to the starting front row, while Paul O'Connell resumes in the second row at the expense of Leo Cullen, who captained Ireland to victory over Russia.

The final change sees Stephen Ferris named in the back row instead of Donnacha Ryan,who is listed among the replacements.

Commenting on the selection of the half-backs, head coach Declan Kidney said: "Ronan and Conor went well in the last 20 minutes against Australia. Ronan went well against Russia as well.

"This is the right combination for us against Italy. They've played a few times together now. Ronan has been place kicking well, but if Jonathan Sexton was starting on Sunday it wouldn't worry me.

"I'd hate to go down the road that we're picking Ronan because of his place-kicking. He's too good a player to be saying that about him, while Johnny's place-kicking is not of concern to me."

He added: "Everyone was talking about the Australia game coming into the World Cup, but in our minds we always knew Italy was the big one. Australia was the attractive one to win, Italy was the necessary one to win.

"The law of averages said Australia would beat Italy in the first match. Unless you do a New Zealand and get 15 points from your first three games, it was always going to come down to this.

"England and South Africa find themselves in the same situation - three wins from three, yet they are also in cup final situations."

IRELAND Team & Replacements (v Italy, 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool C, Otago Stadium, Sunday, October 2, kick-off 8.30pm local time/8.30am Irish time):

15 - Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster)

14 - Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)

13 - Brian O'Driscoll (UCD/Leinster) (capt)

12 - Gordon D'Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster)

11 - Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster)

10 - Ronan O'Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster)

9 - Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)

1 - Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)

2 - Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)

3 - Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster)

4 - Donncha O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)

5 - Paul O'Connell (Young Munster/Munster)

6 - Stephen Ferris (Dungannon/Ulster)

7 - Sean O'Brien (Clontarf/Leinster)

8 - Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster)

Replacements:

16 - Sean Cronin (Leinster)

17 - Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)

18 - Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)

19 - Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)

20 - Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)

21 - Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary's College/Leinster)

22 - Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)

Darcy Injury Boost for Ireland

Ireland centre Gordon D'Arcy is set to be fit for the World Cup Pool C clash against Italy in Dunedin on Sunday.

D'Arcy missed Sunday's win over Russia with a hamstring injury but he took a full part in Tuesday's training.

Tommy Bowe (calf) and Paul O'Connell (hamstring) took part in light training and will step up their training levels on Wednesday.

Rob Kearney, Keith Earls and Sean O'Brien sat out the session as they recovered from bruises.

Kearney (knee), Earls (leg) and O'Brien (arm) picked up their injuries in the 62-12 victory over the Russians and all three are expected to return to training on Wednesday.

"We're hopeful that everyone will be fit," said Ireland manager Paul McNaughton on Monday.

Declan Kidney reflects on his side's victory over Russia in the Rugby World Cup and looks ahead to the vital clash with Italy

Ireland are in pole position to win Pool C after stunning the Tri-Nations champions Australia.

However, McNaughton said the team's three straight wins had not changed anything in terms of the approach to Sunday's final group match.

"We always knew we had to beat Italy," McNaughton said.

"We're all very pleased to beat Australia but Italy was the game we had to win.

"The team has focused on each match. Nobody is thinking about the draw or anything like that."

Meanwhile, Ireland defence coach Les Kiss has insisted that his team's much-vaunted 'choke tackle' is not the only major weapon at the squad's disposal.

Kiss devised the technique that sees players, usually working in pairs, grab opponent and ball around chest height.

They then work together to prevent the ball from being grounded thus increasing the chances of being awarded the put-in at the scrum.

The tackle has attracted plenty of attention in New Zealand after it was used to such great effect in the 15-6 victory over Australia, but Kiss insists it is just one facet of Ireland's game.

"Other teams have already started copying it. England took it on and were speaking to me about it after the Six Nations," said the Australian.

"Some things you can't keep under cover for too long. Certainly some teams are starting to look at the technique in a certain way.

"Fortunately referees are looking at it in the context of the law and how it can be applied.

"We have a lot of tools in our box to use and we don't just rely on the choke tackle.

"That's the beauty of this side - we can put pressure on in different ways."

Ireland Earn Russian Bonus in Rotorua

Ireland continued their march on the World Cup quarter-finals with a predictable bonus-point rout of Russia at Rotorua International Stadium.

Keith Earls led the assault with two tries with Fergus McFadden, Sean O'Brien, Isaac Boss, Andrew Trimble, Rob Kearney, Shane Jennings and Tony Buckley also breaching the whitewash.

Man of the match Ronan O'Gara kicked a penalty and six conversions to finish with 15 points, missing just one shot at goal, and made good use of the space given to him by Russia.

O'Gara's performance, admittedly against weak opposition, has increased the pressure on first choice fly-half Jonathan Sexton, who slotted one conversion.

Ireland did not have it all their own way with Vasily Artemyev and Denis Simplikevich scoring second-half tries for Russia.

They entered the match with the tournament's meanest defensive record have conceded just 16 points in two games, but their line was breached too easily.

The result cements their position at the summit of Pool C and with one round left to play - against Italy in Dunedin next Sunday - they are on the brink of reaching the knockout stages.

It was a highly satisfying 80 minutes for a partially second string XV led by World Cup debutant Leo Cullen, who will hand the captaincy back to Brian O'Driscoll for Italy.

Rain began to fall shortly after kick-off but the weather failed to prevent Ireland from making an ambitious start.

Sean O'Brien made an early impression with robust carries while Donnacha Ryan hit the line at pace, but the good work was undone when Buckley split the ball close to the line.

Russia had strayed offside, resulting in three points for O'Gara, and their situation deteriorated further when fly-half Konstantin Rachkov was sin-binned for slapping the ball forward.

The first try arrived in the 10th minute, McFadden expertly touching down O'Gara's crossfield bomb after sliding over the whitewash.

It was already looking grim for Russia, who conceded again just three minutes later when a series of carries ended with O'Brien piercing the last line of defence.

Russia burst into life in the 22nd minute, winning a turnover and then moving into Ireland's 22 through runs by centre Andrey Kuzin and number eight Victor Gresev.

Their purple patch continued when winger Simplikevich snatched an O'Gara bomb from under the nose of Trimble and sped 30 yards.

Ireland's early assault had ground to a halt thanks to a mixture of Russian doggedness and their own lack of accuracy, exemplified by McFadden slinging a pass into touch.

But as the half neared its conclusion, they found another gear, scoring three tries in four minutes.

Scrum-half Boss wriggled over from close range after Ireland had pounded at the Russian whitewash and then Earls worked an opening down the blindside with help from Trimble to score.

With the try-scoring bonus point already secure, the Irish ran in a fifth for good measure with Trimble hacking ahead and diving on the ball.

Just six minutes of the second half had elapsed when Ireland scored their sixth try, Earls easily breaking through a tackle by Artem Fatakhov to gallop over.

It was not all one-way traffic, however, with alert scrum-half Alexander Yanyushkin causing confusion in the Irish defence until Artemyev arrived to take the ball and score under the posts with Rachkov converting.

Ireland hit back with a lightening break from McFadden, but not for the first time they then fell foul of referee Craig Joubert's whistle at the breakdown.

The Russians still looked dangerous when they had the ball in hand, a fact highlighted when Simplikevich rode two tackles to touch down in the corner.

Some loose passing - most notably from O'Gara - saw play switch from end to end until quick hands from Jamie Heaslip sent Kearney over.

Heaslip was becoming increasingly influential, but it was substitute Jennings who scored next when he burrowed over from close range.

Ireland struck one final blow when Buckley forced his way across the line after Sexton had neglected an overlap.

Tim Horan Remains Adamant

Tim Horan is adamant that the source behind his claim of Irish subterfuge at Eden Park last Saturday is Ireland backs coach Alan Gaffney.

Wallaby great Horan alleged in a newspaper column that Gaffney informed him Ireland feigned injuries during the historic 15-6 victory over Australia.

Ireland head coach Declan Kidney yesterday branded the allegations as "incredulous and slightly scandalous".

But Horan, who won 80 caps for Australia between 1989 and 2000, is standing by the comments.

"After the game I went down, just outside the dressing rooms and onto the field and Alan Gaffney was there," Horan said.

"I know Alan Gaffney very well, we were Wallaby selectors together.

"I had a great chat to him, applauding him for the tactics that they used. I thought they were wonderful tactics in the conditions.

"I definitely spoke to him. Gaffney's a lovely bloke and I didn't want to drag him into this."

Ireland defence coach Les Kiss today denied the existence of a deliberate plan to take the momentum out of Australia's game.

"Feigning injuries is an alien concept since I've been involved in the Ireland set-up. It's not something we're about," he said.

"If you call teams going down at a scrum every now and again slowing the game down then every side in the world is at fault. It happens everywhere.

"Certainly slowing down the game in that way is not at the forefront of any strategy we have.

"As far as I'm concerned I know that Alan Gaffney didn't talk to Tim."

Speaking at yesterday's team announcement, Kidney was furious that Gaffney had been implicated.

"What I can tell you for definite is that the reporter in question (Horan) was never in the dressing room," said Kidney.

"The coach in question (Gaffney) never spoke to him, so I'll let you make your own inferences into how he feels he can quote something that was never said.

"It's incredulous and slightly scandalous that he'd try to bring one of his fellow countrymen into something that is totally untrue.

"It's for other people to have their standards in life."

Horan left no doubt over the source of his information in his column.

"Ireland had a deliberate plan to fake injuries each time there was a breakdown in play so they could slow the game down and frustrate the Wallabies," said Horan.

"How can I be sure? By talking to Irish assistant coach Alan Gaffney in the dressing rooms afterwards."

Horan criticised referee Bryce Lawrence and stated he should not officiate another match at the World Cup, but admitted "Ireland deserved to win and always would have won".

Ireland face Russia at Rotorua International Stadium early tomorrow morning in their penultimate Pool C match.

Cullen to Captain for Russia Match

Leo Cullen will captain an Ireland side that features 10 changes, one positional, for the Pool C match against Russia on Sunday.

Lock Cullen is one eight Leinster players in the team, including fellow World Cup debutants, hooker Sean Cronin and winger Fergus McFadden.

Munster flanker Donnacha Ryan is also playing his first match in the event.

Coach Declan Kidney elected to rest most of his senior players ahead of next week's match with Italy.

Among those stood down are regular captain Brian O'Driscoll, Gordon D'Arcy, Paul O'Connell and Tommy Bowe, the latter trio all carrying injuries after the 15-6 victory over Australia which has left the Irish favourites to clinch top spot in Pool C and seal a quarter-final place.

Ireland manager Paul McNaughton had hinted Kidney would not make wholesale changes, but Kidney explained: "I think in tournament rugby it's extremely difficult to play in games non-stop.

"These guys who are playing here have been training very well, and I think they're the best men to represent us in this match."

Other changes see Jonathan Sexton drop to the bench to allow Ronan O'Gara to start at fly-half, while Keith Earls switches from wing to centre to partner Paddy Wallace, who is finally rewarded with his first World Cup start in his third appearance at the tournament.

The Ulster midfielder was unused in 2003 and only played three minutes - against Namibia - in 2007.

"I always say to the lads, the easiest job here is playing one to 15. The difficult job is not being in the starting 15," Kidney added.

"What Paddy has contributed would be an example for every young player coming through of how to give to the squad without always wanting yourself.

"He's been as disappointed as any man I've ever left off, but he always takes some time for himself then comes back and feeds it back into the team."

The back row duo of number eight Jamie Heaslip and open-side Sean O'Brien retain their places, while hooker Sean Cronin and tight-head Tony Buckley come into the front row alongside Cian Healy, with Rory Best and Mike Ross dropping to the bench.

Cullen will become the third Irishman to be skipper in his tournament debut after Donal Lenihan in 1987 and Dion O'Cuinneagain in 1999.

"There's a real buzz in the camp," he said. "I think for the guys that are playing this week there's a massive responsibility to carry on that momentum we have."

He and Ronan O'Gara are the only survivors from Ireland's only previous match with Russia nine years ago, a 35-3 win in Krasnoyarsk in a qualifier for the 2003 World Cup.

"I remember getting off the plane and we had three or four supporters there, and my old man was one of them," Cullen added. "He's back again for the trip this week."

IRELAND V RUSSIA FACTS

Ireland defeated Russia 35-3 in their only previous meeting in 2002

Russia are playing in their first Rugby World Cup

The Soviet Union played its first official international in 1974

Ireland team: Rob Kearney, Fergus McFadden (both Leinster), Keith Earls (Ulster), Paddy Wallace, Andrew Trimble (both Ulster), Ronan O'Gara (Munster), Isaac Boss; Cian Healy, Sean Cronin (all Leinster), Tony Buckley (Sale), Donncha O'Callaghan (Munster), Leo Cullen (captain, Leinster), Donnacha Ryan (Munster), Sean O'Brien, Jamie Heaslip (both Leinster). 

Replacements: Rory Best (Ulster), Mike Ross (Leinster), Denis Leamy (Munster), Shane Jennings, Eoin Reddan, Jonathan Sexton (all Leinster), Geordan Murphy (Leicester).

Ronan O'Gara Not Retiring Yet

Ronan O'Gara has no intention of retiring from test rugby after the World Cup, insisting he will keep fighting for his Ireland place. The Ireland outhalf appeared to suggest after the stunning 15-6 victory over Australia that his international career would come to an end after the tournament.

An emotional O’Gara was clearly disappointed not to have started against the Wallabies but said today that his comments in the post-match interview have been misinterpreted.

"On Saturday I was speaking in the context of being done with Ireland in six or seven weeks' time in terms of this World Cup," he said. "I said I'm done with Ireland in a few weeks and there are different interpretations of that.

"It was a great night, one of my best nights. I was so proud to be part of the team. From my point of view, when you set goals as a professional player everything ends with the World Cup final.

"That's where I stand at the minute. It's important for me to put an end to this because it's a distraction the team don't need. In my own head I'll reassess at the end of the World Cup. But I want to be part of this team because it's a great team at the moment.

"It's about being part of an Ireland team that will do itself justice in the competition and give the supporters at home something they deserve."

O'Gara has admitted that he has considered quitting in the past, but he insists that he is in no hurry to take the decision.

"Retirement has crossed my mind plenty of times over the last few years," he added. "There are plenty of thoughts in your head when you're disappointed but it's losers who quit when things aren't going so well for them.

"Retirement hasn't entered my head seriously in that regard. I'm a fighter and I'll keep fighting until the end. I'm not sure when that is. Playing for Ireland means so much you don't walk away from the team until it's right.

"You take advice from people you respect on that front. I'm not at that stage yet."

Ireland Duo Doubts for Russa

Ireland will wait until Friday to decide on the fitness of second row Paul O'Connell and centre Gordon D'Arcy for Sunday's match with Russia in Rotorua.

The duo underwent scans on Monday which confirmed they had both suffered hamstring strains during the 15-6 Pool C win over Australia on Saturday night.

An Ireland press release said both players would be monitored over the coming days but no decision would be made until the team to face the Bears was announced at 13:15 on Friday.

The Ireland squad enjoyed a rest day after relocating their team base from Auckland to Lake Taupo as they prepared to face Russia.

Second row Donncha O'Callaghan said: "With a bit of a longer turnaround this week than we had for the Australia game, it's great to be able to have that extra day to let the bumps and bruises settle before we hit the training pitch again.

"There was an incredible buzz around the lads when we were setting off from Auckland to come down here. You expect that after a good win, but something we've all been chatting about is that we need to remain focused on the job at hand.

"Our goal has always been to qualify from our pool and just because we had a big win on Saturday night, it guarantees us nothing.

"We have two games left against two teams (Russia and Italy) who will challenge us physically across the park, so we want to get ourselves right for that."

O'Callaghan also praised the support Ireland have received at RWC 2011.

"The amount of green in the stadium on Saturday was incredible, as it was in New Plymouth (against USA). Hopefully we can get similar support in Rotorua this week."