Rugby: Of all the options facing Eddie O'Sullivan pending Brian O'Driscoll's return to the Irish side to play Wales next Sunday at Lansdowne Road, perhaps the least anticipated was partnering the Irish captain with Gordon D'Arcy in midfield, to the exclusion of the defensive pillar Kevin Maggs. But that is what the Irish coach has gambled on, reports Gerry Thornley Rugby correspondent

O'Sullivan could have kept Maggs at inside centre and moved D'Arcy to the wing or, unlikely given the latter's form, omitted him from the starting line-up.

Explaining his decision after unveiling the team at their City West base yesterday, O'Sullivan said: "We're going for a slightly different angle on midfield. We've two similar-type ball players. He (D'Arcy) is a different gamebreaker from Kevin Maggs, more elusive, more capable of distributing well at different parts of the field, so it's just getting an extra playmaker into the backline."

Having bitten the bullet with regard to Maggs, another option would have been to move Shane Horgan from the right wing, where he has played the majority of his Test rugby, to inside centre. That would have allowed the world's best outside centre to continue playing in that role, with D'Arcy on the wing, i.e., leaving all three in their Leinster positions.

But O'Sullivan was quite dismissive when asked if he had considered this option.

"No, not really. I didn't really, to be honest. It's just a different approach. It (this match) will be slightly different again, but no."

With no straight-running type to take the ball up, like Maggs, Horgan or Rob Henderson, it marks quite a change from Irish midfields. The last time none of the trio figured was on the tour to New Zealand in the summer of 2002, when O'Driscoll moved to inside centre with John Kelly outside him. It cramped his style a little, limiting him to a couple of drop goals, though he performed well and was defensively strong.

The rejigged midfield - which features Ireland's best offloaders in the tackle and two relatively free spirits - could signal a more ambitious, less structured approach than last Saturday's, with an emphasis on probing the Welsh midfield.

But Iestyn Harris, who had a hand in all three of the Welsh tries last Saturday against Scotland, will ask similar questions, and Maggs has always been the cornerstone of the midfield defence.

In the only other change in personnel from last Saturday's starting line-up, another experienced campaigner, with 60 caps to his name, Malcolm O'Kelly, has lost out to Donncha O'Callaghan. There was, perhaps, an inevitability to this, particularly since so many other Munster players are injured and/or out of consideration. Indeed, Mike Mullins's supporters will note with irony that he is now listed among the injured, though Wasps' Johnny O'Connor - sadly ruled out for the remainder of the season - isn't.

O'Kelly is a little unlucky. He had little or no ball called on him last Saturday, indeed none in the first half when the first five throws went to Paul O'Connell at the front, and one wonders how his performances would be reviewed if he were still the prime lineout option he has been throughout his Test career.

O'Callaghan will be making his first start, having won eight caps from the bench, beginning with his debut against Wales last year.

O'Sullivan admitted this was a tough call. "I just felt a change in tactics allowed us to adjust our lineout in terms of Paul jumping at four and Donncha at two," added the coach, who says it also spices up the tight five.

"He (O'Callaghan) plays with a certain amount of abandon, he throws his body around. He's a good lineout operator and he's been breathing down Malcolm's neck for a while now, which is good to have. It's a bit of a call picking him, but I think he's ready."

Well though the back-rowers played in working around the field and making their tackles in Paris, there might have been a case for injecting Victor Costello's ball-carrying ability into the mix, as central to Ireland's chances of beating a dangerous Welsh outfit must be the ability to beat them up front. But again O'Sullivan didn't countenance this idea much.

"No, I think there's a good combination there. It's a hard-working back row. I think you've got an openside, Gleeson, who puts himself around, two good workhorses at six and eight, and they've worked well as a unit. I wouldn't think twice about changing it if I had to, even during the game if I felt we needed something extra there. But they work well together and work well with the midfield, so I'm pretty happy with that mechanics at the moment."

The return of O'Driscoll is undoubtedly a boon, though after a five-week lay-off with a torn hamstring, to expect a vintage performance might be a bit much to ask. Nevertheless, apart from being rested for one of Tuesday's two sessions, he has taken a full part this week.

Mindful of the following fortnight's trek to Twickenham, Ireland and their coach know they are under pressure to win this Sunday's pivotal game against a rejuvenated Welsh side who are clearly revelling in a more expansive game.

Accepting that victory in Twickenham would be "very hard", O'Sullivan admitted Ireland were "targetting" this game. But although Ireland have won the last four meetings, scoring 16 tries in an aggregate points tally of 150-52, O'Sullivan made it "pretty much a 50-50 game".

"It is an important game, there's no doubt about it, but at the end of the day we shouldn't have any belief that we've a divine right to beat Wales because we've had it over them in the last few years."