RUGBY: On the back seat of the Irish team coach returning from a well-attended open training session in the impressive Cill Dara Rugby Club, Keith Wood and Brian O'Driscoll - boys being boys - had what the former called a "good fight".

Not that the boy wonder was peeved over the bald wonder re-assuming the Irish captaincy; O'Driscoll always maintained he was merely keeping the seat warm for Wood.

The welcome return of Wood for his first Test since the World Cup qualifier against Russia in Krasnoyarsk 11 months ago, and his first home game since playing the All Blacks in November 2001, invariably means he also re-inherits the captaincy from O'Driscoll. There was never much doubt about that in coach Eddie O'Sullivan's mind, or anyone else's.

"I think everybody accepted, particularly Brian O'Driscoll, that once Keith was fit again he would take over the captaincy," O'Sullivan said yesterday. "I spoke to Brian about it, obviously, and it wasn't an issue at all. He was very comfortable about Keith taking over the reins again."

As well as he did in the role, with a 7-1 win-loss record, and loath though he would be to admit it, O'Driscoll might even be partially relieved. He'll be as heavily marked as ever, but the 24-year-old's performances might benefit from the reduced responsibility.

As for Wood, others may have doubted he'd return, but he didn't.

"I have to say I didn't have too many doubts - a couple of initial ones, when surgery was going on - that I'd be back at some stage. I would have liked to be back six or eight months ago, but now is as good as any."

With O'Driscoll, Anthony Foley and Shane Horgan (who last played for Ireland or anyone else back in February against Scotland) returning after missing the tour, along with those frontliners who were granted a reprieve from Tonga and Samoa, all told there are 13 changes from the side which beat Samoa in the seasonal and tour finale in Apia eight weeks ago.

Only Anthony Horgan and Reggie Corrigan remain, but both will be more recognisable than that day, when the flame-haired Horgan, drained by the extreme heat and humidity, cut a ghastly figure, while Corrigan has reverted from tighthead to his more familiar number one jersey.

Denis Hickie is still regarded as not being fully match-fit, while the experimentation with Corrigan at tighthead has been abandoned, perhaps in part because it ran the risk of giving him insufficient time to prepare at his more effective position of loosehead going into the World Cup.

Like Anthony Horgan (a debutant in Apia), Simon Best, who won his first cap as a replacement in Tonga, will appear in his first home Test from the start on Saturday.

John Hayes returned to training this week, and the Irish coach made encouraging noises about the tighthead's recuperation from a groin strain yesterday. But O'Sullivan admitted the nerve problems affecting Emmet Byrne's neck were his biggest concern amongst the walking wounded.

Malcolm O'Kelly will wear an unfamiliar number four jersey alongside Paul O'Connell in the second row, and will be a front-of-the-line jumper, which one hopes will not give him too many reminders of the night he suffered when thrown into that role for the Lions in their defeat to Australia's A team. Presumably, there will be more movement and interchanging of jumpers than was the case that night.

To underline the relative paucity of options at number 10 in the wake of injuries to Ronan O'Gara and Paul Burke, in the event of anything untoward happening to David Humprheys, heaven forbid, then full back Geordan Murphy will fill the outhalf void. He was tried at outside centre in his last outing against Australia.

Once upon time, back in his Newbridge College days, Murphy was indeed an outhalf, and he has played there a few times for Leicester, albeit about five years ago. There apparently being no end to his talents, Murphy would also assume the goalkicking duties in that scenario.

Asked if Wood had volunteered for the outhalf role, O'Sullivan whimsically (if not without a grain of truth) responded: "Only after four phases."

Tyrone Howe has been added to the bench as Burke's replacement in the 22, while fellow sub David Wallace is in line to bridge a gap of nearly a year and a half.

First-up games to a new season are notoriously rusty affairs, particularly if they're internationals, and a mid-August return to Test arms is unlikely to be different.

"I think there'll be a bit of acclimatisation to a Test game, not having had any warm-up games," admitted O'Sullivan. "So it could be scrappy for a while I think.

"We'll try to tighten up the game as best we can and try and get a rhythm into the game, and make sure our setpieces are functioning and our defensive system is working.

"Basically, a good run-out and keeping the ball in hand, and trying to play a good, solid game of rugby."

With Welsh coach Steve Hansen seemingly regarding these warm-up games as an unwanted irritant, it is an unfamiliar and unusual-looking Welsh side, to say the least.

"I think it will be an interesting test because a lot of their players are throwing down a marker for the World Cup," said O'Sullivan. "I would say they will see it as a nothing-to-lose situation and they'll certainly come out and give it a lash either way. So it could be a fairly open, flowing game."

O'Sullivan will endeavour to play as many of the current 40-man squad as possible in the three warm-up games.

Nonetheless, this Saturday's encounter and the ensuing match against Italy in Thomond Park a fortnight later will be more World Cup trials per se than the concluding preparatory work-out against the Scots on September 6th.

O'Sullivan will be keener to use that encounter as a final run-out for the first team prior to the World Cup opener against Romania in Gosford on October 11th. But with the 30-man squad to be finalised by the following morning, the Irish coach retains the option of using the Murrayfield encounter to give one or two fringe squad contenders a visit to the last chance saloon.

Ticket packages for the Ireland-Wales game are on offer from the IRFU, with stand tickets priced at €30 each also available in pairs at €40, and terrace tickets at €15 each also on offer at two for €20. Tickets can be purchased by logging on to www.irishrugby.ie