After struggling through the World Cup in New Zealand the outside centre has opted to have it operated on, which could keep him out of the game for six months (missing the majority of Leinster’s season and the Six Nations).

“He’s really happy. The medical staff are really happy. It went really well,” said Schmidt ahead of Leinster’s Heineken Cup match against Glasgow on Sunday in the RDS.

“I just tried to give him a call before I came down here. I was going to see how he was feeling but I couldn’t get hold of him so. I’ll see him Sunday maybe and I’ll certainly talk to him some time today.

“He’s in good spirits and is already talking about rehab. I don’t know how soon he can start that. But that the nature of him,” added the coach.

“He’s pretty determined that he is going to be as good as ever.”

Based on suggestions a shortlist of names for each position was posted daily and saw 160,000 votes being cast. The final 15 is below and would certainly be equipped to compete on the world stage.

2011 RUGBY WORLD CUP DREAM TEAM:

15 - Israel Dagg (New Zealand)

14 - Cory Jane (New Zealand)

13 – Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)

Ireland captain O’Driscoll took nearly 50% of the votes to make the Dream Team. A consistent performer for Ireland, O’Driscoll added to his impressive tally of international tries with a well-taken try in the must win pool match against Italy.

12 - Jamie Roberts (Wales)

11 - Richard Kahui (New Zealand)

10 – Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)

The second Irish player to make the Dream Team, O’Gara earned his place after scoring 44 points during the tournament. His cool head and calmness under pressure make him a valuable addition to the side.

9 - Mike Phillips (Wales)

1 - Jean-Baptiste Poux (France)

2 - Keven Mealamu (New Zealand)

3 - Owen Franks (New Zealand)

4 - Brad Thorn (New Zealand)

5 – Paul O’Connell (Ireland)

Voted man-of-the-match in Ireland’s first match of the 2011 Rugby World Cup against the USA, O’Connell was the overwhelming favourite for the number 5 shirt in the Dream Team. Appearing in his third World Cup tournament, O’Connell was the heartbeat of the Irish side in their run to the quarter-finals.

6 - Thierry Dusautoir (France)

7 - Richie McCaw (New Zealand)

8 - Imanol Harinordoquy (France)

Read the article here…

The long standing injury to his neck and shoulder mean he is most likely out of Ireland’s 2012 RBS 6 Nations as well as most of Leinster’s Heineken Cup title defence.

“I haven’t made a concrete decision yet but I’m heading that way,” admitted Murphy when asked if he was considering retirement from the test arena. “I spoke to Declan Kidney at the end of the World Cup. I’m weighing up my options at the moment and I’ll probably make a call on it just before the Six Nations.”

O’Brien who won’t turn 25 until February came into the tournament as ERC European Player of the Year and he clearly delivered on his reputation playing in four of the five games and scoring his second Test try against Russia.

A back row combination we hope to see time and time again was also formed with Ferris and Heaslip and the New Zealanders were particularly impressed with his strong carries and tough-tackling.

The tournament website also picked out Israel Dagg and Jerome Kaino for their efforts in claiming the title, Jamie Roberts for his performances and some deserved recognition for the Namibia caption Jacques Burger.

O’Driscoll admist that he’s dreading the thought of leaving and not being part of a team:

“Throughout the years, I heard lads talking about the end of their careers and how much they were missing the camaraderie and the craic, and I was thinking they were exaggerating.

“I was saying, ‘That’s a bit too much man love’, but I can see it now. I can see what they were talking about.

“I’ve spent over a third of my life playing professional rugby, so it’s going to have a huge impact when the day comes that I’m not doing it anymore – and I’m dreading it. I see guys who were hugely popular with Leinster over the years, John Fogarty, Malcolm O’Kelly and others, and because they’re not part of everyday training they just can’t have that connection.

“They’re still tied to certain people, but not the team as a whole. That’s all gone.”

O’Driscoll has captain the team to the Six Nations, a Grand Slam and a Triple Crown and has led Leicester to two Heineken Cup titles…. However he still wants more….

“For me, the inspiration is about trying to be the best that you can be, trying to show those who doubt me, the people who think I’m over the hill, that I still have it…I don’t want to be someone who just petered off towards the end of his career, I want to go out on a high”.

While Ireland are currently sitting on top of Pool C having beaten Australia, defeat by the Italians on Sunday in their final group game could still knock them out of the tournament depending on the Italians’ result against the United States later on Tuesday.

In the past the nerves may well have got to the Irish but that is now longer the case, according to Kearney.

“We are sort of lucky with the Heineken Cup at home that we often find ourselves in these scenarios that, come round six, you could be going either way,” he said of the often tension-racked pool-stage finales.

“It’s a massive help because knockout rugby is different and it’s something you might not always be used to. Whether you like it or not, it’s a much higher-pressure situation, knowing if you do lose, you could be going home. So I’d like to think those games will stand to us hugely.

Experience is the word. It’s just about dealing with those pressure situations, do your basics. Like any other big game where there’s a huge amount on the line, you have to limit your errors massively and take those opportunities when they come.”

Kearney, one of the best running fullbacks in the game, is desperate to take his chance after fighting back from a knee injury that threatened his participation in the tournament.

Missing out would have been a massive blow for Ireland and for 25-year-old Kearney, who helped Leinster win the Heineken Cup, was an ever-present in Ireland’s grand slam winning Six Nations side and played all three tests for the British and Irish Lions in South Africa in 2009.

A knee injury suffered in last November’s defeat by New Zealand ended his season, kept him out of Leinster’s second Heineken Cup success and the Six Nations. He was a mere spectator as Ireland struggled to 13-11 win over the Italians in Rome.

“We have a huge amount of respect for Italy and in our last game against them they came very close to beating us in a game we played poorly in,” he said. “We played pretty poorly and we did leave a lot of opportunities behind but it was a last-minute drop goal that got the win for us and we were very lucky to come away with the win.

“Everybody knows Italy have been targeting this game, massively. It’s the one all along where they felt they could create a huge upset and so we know they will probably be putting a little bit more into this game for us than some others. But I think the national team have shown throughout the last few years that when the chips are down and we need to win, we can win. We know how to win as players, in provinces and in our country. Winning is not an issue for us.”

“I feel fresh, fast and powerful. I want to show that,” he said.

“I’m very confident in my own ability and what I can do on the pitch. I have to prove that and the only way to do that is to get my hands on the ball as much as possible.

“I’ve got to make life difficult for (coach) Declan Kidney and see what happens. Declan knows I’m not happy being on the bench.”

He added: “If I picked the team I’d pick me, but all I can do is play as well as I can. I’ve been frustrated not to have been more involved. I was really disappointed given the way things went last month not to be involved and get a start. That’s the way Declan wants it and having that competition for places is what’s best for the squad. As much as I was devastated, you have to be genuine and wish all the guys to do the best. You want to see them do well. There’s a great buzz in the Irish camp at the moment and that’s because we have that camaraderie.”

 ”done with Ireland in a few weeks”

Paul McNaughton, the Ireland team manager has said that Ireland’s leading points scorer will be encouraged to stay on…

“Ronan hasn’t talked formally to us about it. There’s no doubt he still has something to offer the team after the World Cup.

“He’s contracted for the next couple of years. Undoubtedly (coach) Declan Kidney and the management will be encouraging him to stay on.”