O'Driscoll fit for Ireland opener

Brian O'Driscoll will lead Ireland in their World Cup opener against Namibia after recovering from his fractured sinus.

O'Driscoll suffered the damage in Ireland's fractious warm-up game against French club Bayonne last month and was expected to miss the clash against the Pool D minnows in Bordeaux.

But the Leinster centre's rehabilitation has progressed ahead of schedule and head coach Eddie O'Sullivan has restored him to the starting line-up.

Leicester's Geordan Murphy is relegated to the bench to make room, Andrew Trimble of Ulster moves to the right wing and Munster's Brian Carney drops out of the squad. In another timely lift for Ireland, David Wallace has been named at openside after the dynamic Munster forward was finally passed fit following a six-month battle with a chronic ankle injury.

Wallace has not played a Test since the final RBS 6 Nations match against Italy in March and missed the whole of the build-up to the World Cup. But the 31-year-old's six-month enforced international exile is over after the medical team gave him the all clear to start Ireland's World Cup campaign.

Wallace's inclusion means Neil Best of Ulster must settle for a place among the substitutes with his provincial team-mate Stephen Ferris losing his place on the bench. Overall the team shows just three changes, one positional, to the side that scraped past Italy 23-20 in the final warm-up match.