Ireland has avoided another Pool of Death in the draw for the 2011 Rugby World Cup finals in New Zealand, but they have been thrown in with Australia and Italy.

The London draw on Monday has been kind to Declan Kidney's side with Ireland handed a reasonably favorable draw alongside Australia, Italy and two qualifiers. If Ireland finish behind the Australians in the pool they are likely to meet South Africa in the quarterfinals.

New coach Kidney, however, is worried that Ireland will be targeted by lesser nations after being drawn alongside Australia.

"If it's Georgia or Romania they will be coming at us hard," he said. "Being ranked second will make us the target team for the other sides in the pool. They'll be looking to have a go at us. "This draw is a fantastic way to start the competition, but the World Cup is so far away that it's impossible to say who will be around or involved. "We have played against Australia in World Cups before and Italy being in the group will add spice to our Six Nations matches over the coming three years. "But tournament rugby is so different to competitions like the Six Nations because there are a lot of games in a short period of time. "We need to build a squad in the Six Nations. Every match is physical at the World Cup so we need to be prepared for that." Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll hopes to lead his country into the tournament. He said, "I want to be involved but experience teaches you not to look too far ahead. "The game can be fickle, especially when the body gets older. Hopefully in three years time I'll still have the wherewithal to play at this level. "It would be fantastic to play in a fourth World Cup but it's a long, long way away. It's a tough draw. We were beaten by Australia on tour this summer and they were good. "They were good in parts this autumn, but that's not the Australia team we'll see in three years time. It's hard to play against any side in a World Cup I learned that last year. No team makes up the numbers, they come to win." In other rugby news, Munster flanker Denis Leamy is to see a specialist after injuring a knee in the Magners League win over the Scarlets on Friday night. Leinster warmed up for the resumption of the Heineken Cup on Saturday with a fine win over the Ospreys and Ulster hammered Connacht. Cork Hurlers Train CORK'S rebel hurlers staged a defiant training session in Mallow last Saturday as they continue to refuse to work with senior team boss Gerard McCarthy - but the cheeky session was well within the rules of the GAA. Croke Park officials have confirmed that the ban on inter-county activity in November and December does not cover the session, which was unofficial and not part of any planned GAA activity. "Anyone is entitled to train and that's what they were doing," said GAA spokesman Fergal McGill. "You have players training in gyms all over the country at the moment, keeping in shape for the new season and there is nothing wrong with that. "The ban on inter-county activity in the months of November and December only applies if they are training officially under the jurisdiction of a county board or being coached officially. "They were there as a group among themselves and were entitled to do that and did not breach any rule." The players who attended the session remain steadfast in their refusal to play for McCarthy, who is currently preparing a development squad for the Waterford Crystal trophy games in January. O'Neill Gives Up Medal TYRONE star Stephen O'Neill is to turn down the All-Ireland medal he won against Kerry last September following his return to the county squad in the build-up to the game. O'Neill came out of retirement in the build-up to the game which saw Mickey Harte's side shock the Kingdom, with the ace attacker introduced as a first-half substitute. "I was only there for the two weeks before the final and I did not deserve to be going up those steps," said O'Neill, who denied any dispute with Harte when he spoke to the BBC. "There was definitely no row with Mickey over training or anything else," added O'Neill. "I said to Mickey when I met him in August that I couldn't go back, it was too late and it would just upset the whole thing. "If Tyrone had lost I was going to be hung out to dry. I knew I had to prove that I was fit enough to do it and wasn't just coming back for the glory as some people were saying." GAA Shorts MID-Kerry stars Darren O'Sullivan, Sean O'Sullivan and Donncha Walsh are all in line to succeed Paul Galvin as Kerry captain after their win over Kerins O'Rahilly's in the county's SFC final replay . . . CROSSMAGLEN star John McEntee is to appeal the red card picked up against Ballinderry in last Sunday's drawn Ulster SFC club final and hopes to be cleared to play in Sunday's replay . . . NEW Wexford boss Colm Bonnar has named former Carlow manager Tom Mullally as one of his selectors along with Eamonn Scallan, John Barron and Conor Power . . . CAVAN star Sean Johnston has told Star Sunday that he could take a year out to travel the world next summer and may not be available to new county team boss Tommy Carr . . . DEREK McConn has stepped down as manager of the Roscommon hurlers. Former Galway hurling star Anthony Cunningham could take over . . . NEW Dublin hurling boss Anthony Daly has appointed former Offaly star Vincent Teehan as part of his backroom team . . . FORMER Laois star Colm Begley has signed with Aussie Rules side St. Kilda after he was released by the Brisbane Lions . . . MICHAEL John Tierney is to return to the Laois football squad in time for the 2009 NFL campaign . . . THE Derry County Board have agreed a new sponsorship deal with British bookmakers Ladbrokes . . . KEVIN Ryan has taken over as Carlow's new hurling team boss . . . TYRONE hurling boss Kevin McNaughton has quit his post. Taylor Wins KATIE Taylor retained her world lightweight championship in style when she saw off local hero Cheng Dong of China in the 60Kg final at the Women's World Boxing Championships in China. Taylor also picked up the boxer of the tournament award following her 13-2 victory after winning five bouts to claim gold. Wicklow-born Taylor dedicated her win to Olympian Kenny Egan, who finished with silver when he went to China in August. "The Olympic final crossed my mind and I was thinking of Ken Egan as I believe he won that fight and that he should have won the gold medal," said Taylor. "I had the feeling that if I got to the final that I would meet the Chinese and that made me nervous, to tell the truth, because of the scoring in the Olympic final. "But it all worked out fantastic in the end and the final was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Maybe that's some payback for Irish boxing after the Olympic final." The win cements Taylor's claims to be the best female boxer on the planet, but she admitted the pressure was on in China. "A lot of people believe that all I have to do is show up and I will win gold," added Taylor. "But it is not as easy as that. Women's boxing is very competitive and the standard is rising all the time and absolutely nothing can be taken for granted. "Saturday's final was a lot easier than I thought, although I couldn't believe how tall the Chinese girl was, she must have been a foot taller than me. Overall, I am very pleased with my performances, but I was unhappy with the refereeing in my 4-3 win over the Czech Republic boxer in the quarterfinals. "I thought that the refereeing in that contest was bad, to tell the truth, as I was given a public warning in the third round and I still don't know what it was for." Good Shot DOUBLE Major winner Padraig Harrington won the European Tour's Shot of the Year Award for his five wood to the 17th during the final round of his British Open win at Royal Birkdale. Graeme McDowell came second for his seven-iron shot on the third hole of his playoff with Jeev Milkha Singh at the Ballantine's Championship in Korea, while Harrington also took third spot for his tee shot to within eight feet at the penultimate hole of the U.S. PGA Championship, where he claimed his second major of 2008.