Ireland's World Cup bid heats up

First off, sorry Robbie.
Once again, the bould Mr Henshaw finds himself sidelined, his troublesome calf still not 100%. Joe Schmidt has given assurances that he'll be fighting fit by the time we face Italy; there'll be someone else on the front of Hot Press at that point, so the Curse of the Cover will hopefully have passed.
In the meantime, Romania are the opposition on Sunday, for what should - by rights - be something of a routine win. A side significantly below Ireland in the world rankings, coming off the back of a four-day turnaround following their defeat at the hands of the French, it should make for a straight-forward assignment for the men in green.
The team selection suggests as much; having fielded something at least resembling a first-choice XV for the opener against Canada, the changes have been well and truly rung. Only Jared Payne, Keith Earls and Jamie Heaslip remain; emptying the bench, in fact, would mean that every man in the 31-strong squad - Henshaw aside - will have seen gametime in the opening two games.
A bonus point victory will surely be the goal, even if, with a head-to-head shootout against France the likely climax to the pool, the added four-try extra will likely be inconsequential. But Schmidt will have his eye on a few other things in this particular tie.
Expect Devin Toner to play like a man possessed. One of Ireland's most consistent performers since earning the starting spot alongside Paul O'Connell, he has - in many eyes - been leapfrogged in the pecking order by Iain Henderson. It is, as the phrase goes, a good headache for Schmidt, but one player is certainly going to be hard done by when the selections are made for the crunch ties to come.
We'll also likely get the first glimpse of Ian Madigan playing at scrum half. Though the Leinster man starts at No. 10, the coach has suggested this will be the game to give him 15 minutes poking about the bottom of the ruck; while we'll be happy if it's the only time he has to do so in the tournament, it's still worth the preparation should disaster strike down the line.
The main concern, though, will be the penalty count. While there's not much you can tell about attack or defense when playing weaker competition, discipline is discipline, and Ireland's has been decidedly poor of late. A lot of that, of course, is down to changes in the way referees are arbitrating - particularly at the breakdown - and it shows in the figures; 11 penalties conceded last week, including seven inside their own half, is way above the norm. The French, meanwhile, have committed a whopping 29 infringements; if we can win that battle in a fortnight's time, then we'll be in a strong position to go on and win the group.
No need to overcomplicate things, expect a simple victory, easing up towards the end. The bigger tests lie ahead...