The countdown to Sunday's International Rules encounter with Australia hots up today when Irish manager Colm O'Rourke announces his final panel of 25 players. Eight names will be added to the initial squad of 17, while a reserve panel of five players will also be named in case of injuries after the first Test.

Last Saturday's challenge between Ulster/Galway and the Rest of Ireland proved a valuable exercise for O'Rourke and his fellow coaches John O'Keeffe and Mickey Moran.

"We're quite pleased with our preparations at this stage and how well the players have adapted during the sessions," says O'Keeffe. "It was especially heartening to see the response of the Galway and Kildare players on Saturday and particularly their fitness levels. We've ended up with a good balance of coverage across the field, but we will need to put some extra emphasis on the defence where the superior Australian size is likely to cause trouble.

"Our tactics will be to focus on the skill level, with accurate kicking and fast passing, and we're not about to turn this into a physical contest. The Australian strength and power is fairly awesome and while we will be aware of that, it's the movement of ball and players that will create our scores and hopefully get us through to more six-point scores."

O'Keeffe also has concerns about his players lasting the game. "We will be paying particular attention to player tiredness in the fourth of the 20-minute quarters," he says. "That may mean relying on the five interchange players so that we make full use of fresh legs in the closing stages."