Last man standing.
Ireland last faced off against Romania in 2005 at a Lansdowne Road stadium damaged by fire and in sore need of a face-lift… or a bulldozer.
Eddie O’Sullivan’s Ireland won 43-12, with Geordan Murphy and Shane Horgan impressing.
10 years on and only four of the players that featured that day, in Dublin, are still playing. Only one is in Ireland’s World Cup squad.
Andrew Trimble is back at Ulster and reflecting on a near-miss, Donncha O’Callaghan has moved from Munster to Worcester and Peter Stringer is with Sale Sharks, and on TV3’s commentary panel for the World Cup.
Tommy Bowe was expected to be Joe Schmidt’s go-to guy on the right wing but a bad day out against England, and the positive form of Dave Kearney have put him in an odd position. For the first time in years, Bowe appears to be on the outside, looking in.
Chris Henry, Bowe’s Ulster and Ireland teammate, raised his heavily stitched eyebrow when told about Bowe’s match against Romania in 2005.
He commented, “I didn’t know that. It’s great, it just shows how old he is. And we can give him plenty of stick for that.
Henry continued, “It was disappointing for him to miss out against Canada last week of course, and this is now a great chance for him.
“I don’t know if Tommy will remember that game from 10 years ago, but I’ll make sure that I give him a bit of craic down on the bus and remind him of how old he actually is.”
Henry can just about talk – he is a year younger than Bowe.
The back-row insists he feared he may not make the squad following his heart issues – since addressed through invasive surgery – last November.
“It’s been a rocky year for me, so to get the start means the world to me. To be involved in this environment is amazing, having watched World Cups growing up.
He added, “These [setbacks] happen to everyone, there’s always going to be setbacks whether it’s illness or injury.
“In a few months’ time maybe I’ll look back a bit more, but at the moment I’ve got to get stuck in. There’s no doubt though that to be here after everything is very, very special.
After heaping praise on the versatile Sean O’Brien, Henry proclaimed, “The back-row in Ireland is ridiculously competitive, with Tommy O’Donnell and Rhys Ruddock being out injured, and you still have Jordi Murphy and everyone else. It’s fierce.
“I just hope that every time I take the field I can add something and that Joe’s happy with me.
“That’s all I can do and any time I get a green shirt I love it. It would be great to put in a big performance and take it from there.”
As Bowe and Henry are all too aware – take your chance when you get it because your next one may be a long time coming back around.
