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.

Lions tours of Australia come around once every 12 years and Australia one the last series by two Tests to one.

This time they will warm up against the Barbarians in Hong Kong on June 1st, before taking on Western Force in Perth on June 5th. They’ll also play Australia other Super 15 teams:

• Queensland Reds in Brisbane on June 8,
• the New South Wales Waratahs in Sydney on June 15,
• ACT Brumbies in Canberra on June 18 and
• Melbourne Rebels in Melbourne on June 25.

There will also be a match against a combined NSW-Queensland Country lineup in Newcastle on June 12.

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…

A week later they will bring international rugby back to Christchurch at the redeveloped Rugby League Park before a final game pencilled in for the Waikato Stadium in Hamilton June 23rd.

Ireland will also play a match against the Barbarians in the week prior to departing for New Zealand – the date and venue for that game have yet to be confirmed.

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.”

Ireland captain, Brian O’Driscoll said the entire squad backed the decision:

“The welcome that we received at every turn during the tournament from the local communities, who really embraced us everywhere we went, was incredible.

“The tournament itself, not only from our perspective, was a fantastic showpiece and run with such commitment and enthusiasm by the people of New Zealand, it was a credit to the entire nation.

“My only regret was that we were not able to stay in the tournament for longer to give our supporters more to shout about and also allow us to continue to soak up the amazing atmosphere that was continuing to build around the tournament.

“Members of the squad had contact with many people who were affected by the Christchurch earthquake and it was heartbreaking to see the pictures of the devastation there.

“The players all felt that they wanted to make some sort of gesture to show our appreciation for the support given to us and that the fines built up during the tournament would be best served by helping the people and rugby community in Christchurch.”

The IRFU has also made a contribution.

IRB WORLD RANKINGS (as of Monday, October 24):

Last week’s positions in brackets -

1(1) NEW ZEALAND 91.43 rating points
2(2) AUSTRALIA 87.42
3(3) FRANCE 84.70
4(4) SOUTH AFRICA 84.34
5(5) ENGLAND 81.58
6(7) IRELAND 80.65
7(8) ARGENTINA 80.28
8(6) WALES 80.18
9(9) TONGA 76.63
10(10) SCOTLAND 76.20
11(11) SAMOA 75.81
12(12) ITALY 73.99
13(13) CANADA 72.92
14(14) GEORGIA 71.09
15(15) JAPAN 70.45
16(16) FIJI 68.78
17(17) USA 65.63
18(18) ROMANIA 63.98
19(19) NAMIBIA 61.24
20(20) PORTUGAL 60.67