Gatland is contending with injuries among the Welsh pack. (File pic)

Ireland v Wales
ON TV: ESPN 1.30am (AEST)

Wales coach Warren Gatland could field a team containing just eight survivors from the World Cup quarter-final win against Ireland in Sunday’s RBS 6 Nations opener.

Gatland has seen preparations for the Dublin clash badly affected by injuries.

Three members of the pack that helped brush Ireland aside in Wellington four months ago – injured trio Gethin Jenkins, Alun-Wyn Jones and Luke Charteris – will be sidelined for varying time periods during the tournament.

Hookers Matthew Rees (calf strain) and Lloyd Burns (neck) are also absent, while Gatland will confirm tomorrow whether three other players have won their fitness battles.

Gatland delayed his scheduled team announcement by 48 hours after deciding to give centre Jamie Roberts, fly-half Rhys Priestland and flanker Dan Lydiate as much recovery time as possible.

Roberts has not played since suffering a knee injury two days before Christmas, while Scarlets star Priestland went off during a Heineken Cup game in Castres last month and Lydiate has been nursing ankle trouble.

In the final shake-up, it could be that Leigh Halfpenny, George North, Jonathan Davies, Mike Phillips, Huw Bennett, Adam Jones, Sam Warburton and Toby Faletau are the only players who reappear on starting duty from Wellington.

Uncapped 21-year-old Ospreys centre Ashley Beck has emerged as a strong contender to replace Roberts, with James Hook the probable replacement for Priestland and Ryan Jones the leading candidate as Lydiate’s deputy.

Ireland will be hoping for a return to the success of 2009. (File pic)

ESPN has announced it will televise all 15 games of the RBS Six Nations live from February 5 to March 18.

The station will air Ireland’s Six Nations opener against Wales from 1.30am next Monday morning.

Ireland’s game against France will air at 6.30am on February 12, a Sunday.

Ireland’s clash against Italy will be aired at midnight on Sunday, February 26.

Ireland’s penultimate game of the tournament is against Scotland on March 11 (3.30am), with the tournament closer on March 18 against defending champions England at Twickenham (3.45am).

:: RBS Six Nations fixtures on ESPN

Sunday February 5
France v Italy at Stade de France – 1.00am
Scotland v England at Murrayfield – 3.30am

Monday February 6
IRELAND v Wales at Aviva Stadium – 1.30am

Sunday February 12
England at Stadio Olimpico – 2.30am
France v. IRELAND at Stade de France – 6.30am

Monday February 13
Wales v. Scotland at Millennium Stadium – 1.30am

Sunday February 26
IRELAND v. Italy at Aviva Stadium – 12.00am
England v. Wales at Twickenham – 3.30am

Monday February 27
Scotland v. France at Murrayfield – 1.30am

Sunday March 11
Wales v. Italy at Millennium Stadium – 1.00am
IRELAND v. Scotland at Aviva Stadium – 3.30am

Monday March 12
France v. England at Stade de France – 1:30am

Saturday March 17
Italy v. Scotland at Stadio Olimpico – 11.00pm

Sunday March 18
Wales v. France at Millennium Stadium – 1.30am
England v. IRELAND at Twickenham – 3.45am

Ireland will face world champions Span in the group stage of the Euro 2012 finals next June.

Ireland have been drawn in one of the toughest Euro 2012 groups along with World Champions Spain, Italy and Croatia.

While the draw will make it very difficult for the Irish to get out of the group, it offers Giovanni Trappatoni’s side the best possible stage to cause an upset.

Ireland will be based in Poland for the group stages of the tournament and will open the campaign against Croatia on Sunday June 10 in Poznan.

They will then square off with Spain – the tournament favourites and reigning world and European champions – in Gdansk on June 14 and Italy in Poznan on June 18.

All the games will be shown live on Setanta Sports in Australia.

Should Ireland progress beyond the group stages they would face opposition from Group D – which features co-hosts Ukraine, England, Sweden and France – in the quarter-final stages in either Donetsk or Kiev on June 23 or 24.

“It’s impossible to say which group is better because we know our position in ranking,” said Trapattoni after the draw. “We have to think in football, everything is possible.

“We have to play with the same mentality. Obviously, all the teams are very difficult, but I am confident. I know better Italy but every game is different. We also have to play Spain and Croatia are not easy.

“Spain are the world champions and are a strong team. We have to think about games against the famous players, like Italy, Brazil and Germany.

“We have to think about our moment, it is a good moment, with our attitude and mentality. It is important that our squad stays without injury.”

Republic of Ireland midfielder Keith Andrews said the draw could have been “kinder” and that Ireland would have been happier to drawn one of the home nations.

“There’s no denying it has been a tough draw,” he told The Irish Times, but added it would be fantastic to face Spain, describing the reigning world and European champions as “one of the best teams of the last 30 years”.

Ireland have faced both Croatia and Italy in friendlies over the last 12 months – drawing 0-0 with Croatia at the Aviva Stadium in August and beating Italy 2-0 in Liege in June.

During the World Cup 2010 qualifying campaign, Ireland drew 2-2 with Italy in Croke Park and 1-1 in Bari.

Ireland’s last competitive meeting with Spain, also the country’s last fixture at a major championships, was in the second round of the 2002 World Cup in Suwon, Korea. The sides drew 1-1 before Spain progressed 3-2 on penalties.

Irish medical staff refuse to rule Shane Long out of November play-offs. (Pic: PA)

Setanta Sports has confirmed that it will show the first leg of Ireland’s Euro 2012 play-off  tie against Estonia live from Tallinn at 6.30am on Saturday, 12 November.

The second leg will be shown live from Dublin by ESPN at 6:45am, 16 November.  A replay of the game will also be shown at 8pm later that day.

Meanwhile, the FAI is holding out hope that Shane Long still has a chance of featuring in next month’s crucial games against Estonia.

The initial news seemed to rule him out of both fixtures with the player’s club West Bromwich Albion expecting him to return to fitness in early December.

However, on the eve of Giovanni Trapattoni’s announcement of his preliminary squad for the games this Friday, Irish medical staff indicated that it is still too early to say how long the 24 -year-old’s recovery might take, but that his progress will be monitored over the course of the week.

A scan on the knee injured in a wild challenge by Alan Hutton in West Brom’s defeat of Aston Villa, has shown that Long’s cruciate ligaments are undamaged but, according to the club’s website there is: “severe bone bruising and a small bone chip inside the right knee”.

Long’s availability is of particular concern as Kevin Doyle is suspended for the first leg, while Robbie Keane is a doubt for both games due to injury.

Trapattoni’s most obvious remaining striking option is to pair Long’s club mate Simon Cox with Stoke City forward, Jonathan Walters.

However there also plenty of Irish strikers who have been left out of recent squads who are playing well for their clubs, including Celtic’s Anthony Stokes, Newcastle’s Leon Best and Leeds’ Andy Keogh.

Keogh will hope that his recent form for Leeds has made as much of an impression on Trapattoni as it has on Simon Grayson who says that he may look to sign the Irishman permanently from Wolves when his loan spell at Elland Road runs out in January.

Newcastle’s Best has also repeatedly staked his claim this season with three Premier League goals already this campaign, although Trapattoni has recently suggested that he believes the in-form striker needs to improve his work-rate before being considered.

“I am playing well and scoring goals, me and Shane are on the same amount in terms of Premier League goals. Goals win games and while working hard for the team helps, you can only run as hard as your body will let you,” said Best in response to the Irish manager’s remarks.

Ireland head into tonight’s Group B clash with minnows Andorra (Setanta Sports, from 9.30am Saturday, delayed) knowing a maximum haul from that game and Tuesday night’s visit of Armenia to the Aviva Stadium will guarantee them a play-off place at worst.

However, should Slovakia beat leaders Russia in Zilina tonight, six points would send Giovanni Trapattoni’s men to next summer’s finals in Poland and Ukraine.

Keane said: “These two games are huge and we have come into them desperate to get the six points to guarantee the play-off.

“But I still think there is a twist here somewhere along the line – and I hope it’s not for us. Hopefully, Slovakia can do us a favour.

“We need to concentrate on our own job and getting six points, focus on tomorrow’s game and getting three points and getting ourselves out of here and looking forward to Tuesday’s game.

“At the start of the campaign, this is what you play for, to be in positions like this.

“Before the campaign, a lot of people would have probably accepted this, but there is still a little twist, I think.”

The shoot-out in Slovakia kicks off before the Republic get underway in the Pyrenees, and while Keane knows avoiding news of what is going on in Zilina may prove difficult, he insists he and his team-mates cannot allow it to distract them.

Keane said: “Eventually, we will find out somehow, but it’s important that we focus on what we are doing rather than looking at Slovakia and Russia.

“I am sure somewhere along the line, someone will say something to us, but it’s important that the players focus on our own job at hand because by no means is this going to be a walk-over.

“It’s going to be a tough game with the conditions and what have you, so we need to be totally 100% focussed on exactly what we have to do. That’s the most important thing.”

Those conditions involve playing on a tight, uneven pitch at 1100m above sea level in front of a crowd which is expected to total only around 800.

Keane has recent experience of playing at altitude with LA Galaxy, but he is adamant that both that and the state of the pitch are largely irrelevant.

He said: “I played a couple of weeks ago. We played a Mexican team and it was quite high altitude.

“In the first 15 minutes of the warm-up, the fitness coaches were telling us to make sure we got a good sweat on first and try to get past that stage where you are breathing quite heavily.

“It’s completely different, but a lot of players have played in it before.

“I haven’t seen the pitch yet, but apparently it’s not too good, so you are not going to be popping the ball about like Barcelona. It’s important to play to our strengths and play to how the pitch is.

“For us, it is just about getting three points and getting out of here.

“It’s very important that we keep focussed and defend well as a team. If we score in the first minute or whether it’s the 80th minute, it doesn’t really matter as long as we come out of here with a win.”

Ireland arrived in Andorra looking for an eighth successive clean sheet, although tomorrow night’s game is likely to unfold very differently to the 90 minutes in Russia which ended in a hard-fought 0-0 draw.

Keane said: “We didn’t play particularly well in Russia – we got battered, let’s be totally honest.

“They played really, really well and had a lot of chances. We didn’t play well, but the most important thing is we got a point out there, and that could be crucial.”

Long has started the new Premiership season brightly. (Pic: File)

Ireland v Slovakia
ESPN, Saturday, 4:30am

Shane Long’s rise to prominence has been rewarded by a massive vote of confidence from Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni.

The 24-year-old won a move to the Barclays Premier League this summer when West Brom snapped him up from npower Championship side Reading in a £4.5million deal.

Long’s response was to score in both of his first two games for the club, significantly against Manchester United and Chelsea, to underline his growing stature.

Trapattoni has been aware of his blossoming talent for some time and was confident enough in his ability to turn to him when Kevin Doyle was injured just 20 minutes into the 2-1 qualifier victory over Macedonia in Dublin in March.

But with Doyle fit again, the Italian has decided to pair Long with skipper Robbie Keane in attack for the vital showdown with Slovakia at the Aviva Stadium.

Trapattoni said: “I know the qualities of Shane Long. He is fast and maybe he can put the Slovakia defence in great difficulties.

“I am confident about him. I don’t want to tempt fate, but at the moment, he is scoring goals for his club and he has gained more confidence from doing that.

“Playing against these Slovakia defenders, maybe he can do the same.”

Trapattoni admitted it was a difficult decision to leave Doyle out with one eye on his recovery from that knee injury, but with the other firmly on Tuesday night’s potentially decisive clash at the Luzhniki Stadium.

He said: “I wanted to see him to make sure there was no fear in his head about his injury. I don’t see any fear in him at all.

“I have no doubt I will have the opportunity to play him maybe in the second half, and he can also be ready for Russia.”

Keane and Doyle have formed a formidable partnership in recent seasons, but the Los Angeles Galaxy frontman has no fears about linking up with Long instead.

He said: “If you look at his performances for Ireland in the last year or so, he has been very, very good and he has taken that into performances for his new club.

“The two of them are very, very similar players, so for me, it’s not different whether I played with Shane or Kevin because they are equally as good as each other and they have got really the same qualities.”

Meanwhile, the Slovakia game will see full-back Kevin Kilbane miss a competitive international for the first time since November 1999 because of a back injury, breaking his 66-match run.

Keane said: “He has been absolutely tremendous for Ireland. I don’t think he probably gets the credit he deserves, to be honest with you.

“He has been a great, great player for this country and I’m sure he will continue to be so.”

:: Group B poised

It is crunch time in the Group B as the top three look to find a way to pull clear in this weekend’s Euro 2012 qualifiers.

Ireland, Russia and Slovakia begin the games tied at the top with 13 points.

Ireland perhaps have the hardest task, facing both Russia and Slovakia over the next few days, but the fixture list at least means everything is in their hands.

“These two games are going to be massive in the next five days and it’s important that we try to get maximum points and if not, not to lose any games,” said captain Robbie Keane.

“These two games will dictate whether we qualify or not.”

The Irish face third-placed Slovakia at home first, before a tough assignment in Moscow—- the club base of recalled winger Aiden McGeady — four days later.

Both of Russia’s games this week are at home, a potentially big advantage for Dick Advocaat’s men who will be confident of recording a win over fifth-placed FYR Macedonia tomorrow.

However, they are without talented goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev, absent through injury, with Vyacheslav Malafeev likely to start between the posts.

Slovakia, who face Armenia at home on Tuesday night after the trip to Ireland, have been boosted by the return of Miroslav Stoch.

However, coach Vladimir Weiss is wary of both fixtures this weekend, as he knows Armenia, five points behind the leading pack, will be tough to beat at home.

“They play the best football in our group,” he said.

Armenia were 3-1 winners over Slovakia in the reverse fixture, a costly home defeat for Weiss’ men, and a result they need to rectify to keep up the challenge at the top.

Macedonia and Andorra, yet to win a point, both know their own campaigns are over, which has freed Macedonia boss John Toshack to experiment a little as he calls in uncapped trio Daniel Georgievski, Muarem Muarem and Muhamed Huseini.

Andorra face Armenia at home tomorrow.

Republic of Ireland team to face Slovakia: Shay Given, John O’Shea, Richard Dunne, Seán St Ledger, Stephen Ward, Damien Duff, Keith Andrews, Glenn Whelan, Aiden McGeady, Robbie Keane and Shane Long.

Robbie Keane has assured Trapattoni of his commitment to the Ireland set-up.

Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni is confident skipper Robbie Keane will be ready to lead his country into Euro 2012 battle after jetting in from America.

The LA Galaxy striker is due to arrive in Dublin to meet up with the rest of the squad ahead of Friday night’s Group B clash with Slovakia at the Aviva Stadium and next Tuesday’s potentially decisive trip to Russia.

In Australia, ESPN are showing the Slovakia game live from 4:30am on Saturday morning.

Ireland’s clash with Russia will be shown live by Setanta Sports at 12:55am on Wednesday, September 7.

Keane, 31, has scored 51 goals in 109 senior appearances for Ireland and represents Trapattoni’s most potent weapon as the Italian attempts to guide the Republic to the finals of a major tournament for the first time since the 2002 World Cup in the Far East.

But the Italian has no fears that the trans-Atlantic commute will affect the striker, who assured him of his commitment to international football as he headed into Major League Soccer.

Trapattoni said: “I spoke with him and he went with enthusiasm. He told me he was happy.

“He wished also to be with the Irish team and he will be with us this week.

“I am sure also now after one day’s rest he can play despite the long flight.”

Keane scored on his debut for the Galaxy in a 2-0 win over San Jose Earthquakes on August 20, and also started against Costa Rican champions Alajuelense in the CONCACAF Champions League on Thursday as his side ran out victors by the same score.

While the much-travelled frontman has become something of a talisman for his country over the years, he now enjoys a measure of support from a new generation of Irish strikers.

Kevin Doyle has established himself as Keane’s main foil, but the emergence of Shane Long and new West Brom team-mate Simon Cox as genuine options has given Trapattoni real choice.

The manager said: “It’s important to have these options. In the 90 minutes, we can start and then change.

“It’s very important to choose every option.”

The Slovakia and Russia games will have a major say in the outcome of the group, with the three sides involved locked together at the top of the table on 13 points.

Ireland lost at home to the Russians and drew in Slovakia in October, and there has been little to choose between the teams throughout the campaign to date.

But while Trapattoni is fully aware of the magnitude of the double-header, he is refusing even to contemplate what lies ahead in Moscow next week until the first encounter has been negotiated.

He said: “We must prepare for these two games with more attention — I say more because it is always important to improve.

“Every game shows us or teaches us that it is possible to improve again.

“For example, for the last [friendly] game against Croatia, we were missing two or three important players. But the players who came in played well, and I am confident about them.

“I saw how it’s possible to improve not only the system, but the attitude, mentality and how it’s possible to achieve the result when we are missing one or two important players.

“Now against Slovakia and against Russia, we need to start with the winning mentality because I think we can do that.

“But we have to think about Russia only after three days.”

Trapattoni also returned to a familiar theme when talk of a boozy bust-up at the team hotel in May was raised, and insisted that, although he does not mind his players having a drink after a game, they must stick to his rules.

He said: “Two or three months ago, I allowed them to drink beer. Why not? In Italy we drink wine.

“We don’t need any secrets. Everything has to be clear. We can allow it as long as at 11 o’clock, they come back.”

The rights for the two Dublin matches have not been picked up by any of Australia’s sports channels leaving fans little option but to seek out illegitimate feeds of the match online.

The Irish Echo understands that both FoxSports and Setanta baulked at the asking price for the two fixtures.

The fact that the matches also clashed with the networks’ existing commitments also devalued the games, we understand.

Ireland face France on Saturday at Aviva Stadium in Dublin ahead of the announcement of the World Cup squad on Monday. The Irish then complete their World Cup preparations with a clash against England on August 27.

Their first World Cup match is against the United States on September 11 in New Plymouth.

In team news, full-back Rob Kearney looks like the only new injury concern for coach Declan Kidney after Ireland’s defeat by France last weekend in Toulouse.

Ireland Manger Paul McNaughton said, “Rob (Kearney) had a scan to examine the extent of the injury. At the outset, the injury does not seem too serious, but we will wait to see the result of the scan and also how the injury settles before we review it.”

McNaughton also went on to give an update on other players in the squad: “Brian O’Driscoll, Stephen Ferris and Gordon D’Arcy are all continuing to progress well and it is expected that they will be upping their involvement in training this week and will be in contention for selection. Tommy Bowe is also making progress and it is hoped that he will be in line for selection the week after.”

Ireland's rugby coach Declan Kidney

Ireland’s rugby coach Declan Kidney refused to be cheered by a vastly improved second-half performance in last weekend’s 19-12 defeat by France.

Les Bleus looked like World Cup contenders as they raced into a 13-0 lead with some outstanding rugby capped by Vincent Clerc’s try.

But they fell away in the second half and Ireland took advantage by staging a fightback inspired by Ronan O’Gara that ultimately fell short.

“I’d hate to go back into the past and say that I’m glad we had a really good second half,” said Kidney.

“That’s the sort of thing we would have said in the past. We lost the game and that’s what we need to look at it.

“In the first half we did a bit of damage to ourselves because we didn’t hang on to the ball too well.

“At the start France played well and we didn’t play like we’re capable of.

“When you put those together you’ll end up doing a lot of defence.

“Our defence has had a lot of practice over the last couple of weeks.

“We must look at doing more of what we did in the second half, but one half doesn’t count – you must do that for 80 minutes.”

Full-back Rob Kearney, who returned from a serious knee injury only last weekend, limped off with a groin problem.

“Rob pulled up with a tight groin. I’d hope it’s not serious,” said Kidney.

France coach Marc Lievremont was satisfied after his side won the first of their two warm-up internationals for the World Cup.

Lievremont was delighted with the opening quarter when the French looked like a side who could challenge the world’s best in New Zealand, and refused to be dispirited by their subsequent collapse.

“I’m happy because our first goal was to win our last match in France before the World Cup. Now we must build on this,” he said.

“The first third of the match was great. Maybe that had a strong impact on our game, perhaps the players were overwhelmed.

“The players became tired, but we’re very happy with the intensity we showed in the first half.

“We know what worked on the pitch and also what didn’t work so well. We know what we must address for the next game.”

Ireland face the French again next weekend (August 20) in Dublin before wrapping up their Rugby World Cup preparation against England on August 27 at Aviva Stadium. Sadly for expat fans, none of the local sports channels have picked up the rights so the crucial matches will not be seen legitimately in Australia.

Ireland’s 30-man World Cup squad will be announced on Monday August 22.

Their first World Cup clash is on September 11 against the United States in New Plymouth.

Ireland overcame Macedonia 2-1 in Dublin in March. On Sunday morning they face the side in Skopje.

Giovanni Trapattoni is keeping his fingers crossed over skipper Robbie Keane after an injury scare ahead of the Euro 2012 qualifier in Macedonia.

The game will be shown live on Setanta Sports from 5:25am AEST on Sunday. England’s tie against Switzerland will also be shown live, from 1:15am.

Keane sat out the final stages of a practice match during the squad’s final training session in Malahide before their departure for Skopje.

Keane has been struggling with an Achilles problem for some time, and that will not have been helped by a kick on the ankle from defender Damien Delaney during the training exercise.

However, it was later revealed that the 30-year-old, who took his international goals tally to 49 with three in last week’s two Carling Nations Cup matches, had suffered a groin strain stretching for a ball.

Keane is expected to train at the Philip II Stadium this evening, but assistant boss Marco Tardelli confirmed his injury is a worry.

Speaking immediately after the session, Tardelli said: “After 15 minutes, he stopped because he has a little problem with his groin. But we think he will be good for Macedonia. I think, I don’t know.

“In this moment, we can say nothing. I hope Robbie Keane will be okay, but if the match was tomorrow, then he wouldn’t play.”

Trapattoni had himself been due to give an update on his players, but headed straight for the bus to leave his assistant to do the talking.

That was perhaps a reflection of how important Keane is to his team, although even with Wolves frontman Kevin Doyle injured, the Italian does at least have options.

West Brom striker Simon Cox, who scored on his debut against Northern Ireland last week, has impressed, while Reading’s Shane Long has established himself as a genuine contender for a place in the starting line-up in recent months.

Long, of course, arrived in Dublin still coming to terms with his club’s npower Championship play-off final defeat by Swansea on Monday.

However, Tardelli is confident he will be ready to start if required.

He said: “At training yesterday, Long didn’t appear to be fit. But today he has shown that he is fit.

“At this time, we have many choices and there are possibilities there to make decisions.

“There is still a bit of a stress after Shane Long playing such a big match only on Monday. I don’t know which one of them may play because we also have this problem with Robbie Keane.

“But it is fair to say that Simon Cox is ahead of Shane Long at this moment in time.”

At the back, Richard Dunne is suspended while Sean St Ledger’s attempts to make himself available after a 10-week lay-off with a knee injury look doomed.

Other stories: Liam Miller signs for A-League side Perth Glory.