Smal was the overwhelming favourite to succeed Pieter de Villiers but he is intent on seeing out his contract with Ireland which expires at the end of the 2012-2013 season.

Tonga’s reward for one of the biggest upsets in Rugby World Cup history sees them make a massive leap in the rankings, meaning they now sit one below France who have dropped below Ireland, Wales and Argentina to eighth (the lowest position they’ve occupied!).

IRB WORLD RANKINGS (as of Monday, October 3):

Last week’s positions in brackets -

1(1) NEW ZEALAND 90.62 rating points
2(2) SOUTH AFRICA 86.71
3(3) AUSTRALIA 84.84
4(4) ENGLAND 84.54
5(6) IRELAND 83.14
6(7) WALES 80.73
7(8) ARGENTINA 80.28
8(5) FRANCE 79.72
9(13) TONGA 76.63
10(9) SCOTLAND 76.20

The match against France will be take place on the 20th at 5pm, while England visit on the 27th for a 2.30pm kick-off.

The meeting with France will be the second between the teams in a week, after Ireland travel to Bordeaux for a game on the 13th.

Declan Kidney’s side will begin preparations for the trip to the southern hemisphere with a match against Scotland at Murrayfield on August 6th.

O’Connell has a groin injury that has not responsed to antibiotics and Best has an ankle injury, they will be replaced by Ed O’Donoghue and John Fogarty.

Ireland are already without Ferris, Leamy and Fitzgerald and now five uncapped players will travel.

The NZRU announced that Ireland, France and England will take part in three-Test tours with them between 2012 and 2014 as part of the new global schedule agreed by the IRB.

June tours to New Zealand from 2012 to 2019: Ireland, Three Tests (2012); France, Three Tests (2013); England, Three Tests (2014); No tours due to Rugby World Cup (2015); Wales, Three Tests (2016); British & Irish Lions tour (2017); France, Three Tests (2018); No tours due to RWC in Japan (2019).

IRELAND A

Connacht coach Michael Bradley will continue in charge of the A team, against Tonga and Argentina in November, the team will also play England Saxons and Scotland A next year – where they will be managed by Joey Miles.

IRELAND WOMEN

Ireland Women’s team will be managed by Rachael Reid and have new head coach Kevin West to build on last years success in the Six Nations where they qualified outright for the Women’s World Cup due to their success!

IRELAND YOUTH

U-20’s will continue to be coached by Allen Clarke, and be joined by new manager Michael Kearney. Clarke will also be working with the U-19 side (containing both clubs and schools players) in one of their fixtures against the Australian U-19 team.

U-19 Schools will also play Australia under the guidance of Terr McMaster. Both of the U-19’s will be under the management of former Ireland Schools team manager Barry McGonigle.

To ensure continuity Terr My McMaster will continue to coach the U-18 Schools team along with former internationals Kelly Gooks and Garbiel Fulcher. The U-18 Club side will also gain from continuity with  Greg Lynch coaching and Willie Gribben managing.

The AIB Club International side which gives club players the change to represent Ireland in fixtures against England and Scotland will have a manager announced at a later date.

The retired teacher is aged 67 and takes over the reins from John Lyons. This marks the next step in a long standing career of service to the game of rugby in Ireland. The 122nd President made his presence felt as much lauded member of the Ulster team and has also showed a high level of participation in terms of administrative duties.

He was part of a Queens’ University team that triumphed in the Ulster Senior League in 1967. He went on to serve as the Ulster Branch President and was in this position when the club won the prestigious European Cup in the 1998/99 season.

The love of rugby seems to have carried through the next generation of Callaghans with his son Joel being recognised as an Irish Schools international player. Joel, his mother Mabel and sister Clare were all on hand to congratulate John Callaghan with his most recent achievement.

The Union is confident that the deal with the leading sports brand will help it grow the brand of Irish rugby as well and it is clear that there are a lot of lesions to be shared on branding and marketing. This means that Puma will be with the Irish team for their campaigns into the 2011 and 2015 World Cup, not to mention their defence of their 6 Nations title.

The move is part of Puma’s strategy to ensure that it is recognized as a leading sports and lifestyle brand.

Members of the Ireland coaching staff will also cover the Ireland ‘A’  team in the Barclays Churchill Cup in June.

The above games will see over 60 players get the opportunity to impress both Kidney and the coaching staff.

The Ireland management have also confirmed that there may be a fourth international during November, to take place outside of Ireland.

IRELAND MATCHES FOR 2009:

- RBS 6 Nations Championship (5 games): February-March

- Summer Tour (2 games):
Canada v Ireland, May 23;
USA v Ireland, May 30

- Barclays Churchill Cup (3 games): June

- GUINNESS Series 2009 (4 games):
Ireland v tbc, November 7 or 8;
Ireland v Australia, November 14 or 15; Ireland v Fiji, November 21 or 22;
Ireland v South Africa, November 28 or 29