Cody: there’s no such thing as a certain player having to play

THOMOND Park night with a twist. Munster’s rugby cathedral had its beaming floodlights and immaculate playing surface on Thursday night, but the stands and pitch were quiet.

Instead the focus was underneath the West Stand, where 560 people were sardined in a conference room for the 2008 BDO Get BACk Challenge Sports Coaching Seminar.

The origins of the Get BACk Challenge date back to two years ago, when a group of Limerick businessmen established a body to fund cancer care and promote sports schemes for disadvantaged groups within the city. To date they have totted up €300,000, with Thursday’s coaching seminar another strand of their scheme. Four speakers addressed the masses, including Irish Olympic nutritionist Siobhán Madigan, DCU Professor Niall Moyna and new Munster boss Tony McGahan.