Wallace to stake Ireland claim

GIVEN the number of times David Wallace has been left in the lurch, people have been wondering if there's some "history" between himself and Irish coach Eddie O'Sullivan.

He laughs at the idea and instead insists it's only by continuing to produce his best he will convince O'Sullivan to revive an international career that has stalled since his non-involvement in the three autumn internationals.

Wallace has another chance to impress when he plays for Munster against the Newport Gwent Dragons in this afternoon's Heineken Cup tie at Rodney Parade.

There is general relief the leg injury picked up in a man-of-the-match performance against Ulster last week has cleared up because he is a vital cog in the Munster machine.

The back-row trio of Wallace, Denis Leamy and skipper Anthony Foley will be expected to gain a crucial edge and if they do, then Eddie O'Sullivan must take note. A deep thinker on the game, Wallace doesn't take anything for granted. He has good reason to know how fickle the game of rugby can be.

"Take last year, my form wasn't near where I wanted it," he muses. "I was out of favour, Denis [Leamy] was ahead of me and had an awesome start to the season. I wasn't even a substitute in the two games against Harlequins. If you're not picked for Munster, you're not going to get picked for Ireland.

"It was a tough year for me in that regard and my confidence was very low. Luckily, at the end of the season my form was better and then I went to Japan with Ireland. I played the second Test and we got a rude awakening in the first half but came back well in the second. I was happy with my form there as well."

Then came the long summer break and his thoughts went back 12 months to when he was rightly recognised as one of the few successes of the Irish tour of South Africa but still couldn't get on the Munster team.

He was determined there would be no repeat this time and so far he's happy the way things have gone. He acknowledges the competition for places in the Munster back-row is good for the team, although it certainly doesn't make it any easier for himself or indeed the other contenders like Leamy and Foley to nail down their Irish team places.

"There's no point in being frustrated with what happened in the past," he reasons. "I've just got to try and put in some good performances over the next few games. As for the autumn internationals, I was in the squad and after the first game I thought there might be a chance, the same after the Australian game so, yeah, I was disappointed.

"I talked to Niall O'Donovan, the forward coach, and he gave me a good run down on where I need to be. Unless you're told, you worry if maybe it's this part of my game or that part of my game that's wrong and you might be losing confidence when it's quite okay."

As for those who suspect there may be "something" between himself and O'Sullivan, he laughs and simply comments: "No, there's nothing there," then goes on to repeat the mantra of the need to try to keep performing at the highest possible level.

Wallace is now aged 29 and it's only human nature that he should have contemplated seeking pastures new. His brothers Richard and Paul have played for Saracens in England and loved it. His ties to Munster are considerable but he has talked to people who have told him: "It's a waste not to do it while you can," and to retired players who stayed put and regretted doing so.

He also accepts that he faces "a risk of going stale in terms of challenges if you're in a team for too long."

"There are pros and cons and every player has to look at his options."

There's no doubt, though, where his priorities lie today and that's playing as big a part as possible in ensuring the desired outcome at Rodney Parade. He goes into the match on the back of last week's poor performance against Ulster and the frustration of missing out on the crucial final 15 minutes.

"We were beginning to get up a head of steam and the momentum was definitely with us," he says.

"We seemed to be knocking-on a little less and going forward a lot more and were only three points behind. Prior to that, I've never seen such bad mistakes. Declan said there were 26 knock-ons, whereas four or five would be an average.

"The skill levels weren't up to scratch but I don't think it's ominous going into this game. Because we were behind, we were a bit jittery and maybe trying too hard. Hopefully, we've learned from that; we need to be patient rather than try to make the unbelievable happen."

Wallace is one of seven survivors of the side that came from behind to forge a 39-24 victory over a side known then simply as Newport at Rodney Parade on January 13th, 2001. The others are John Kelly, Anthony Horgan, Ronan O'Gara, Peter Stringer, John Hayes and Anthony Foley, a good indication of the continuity of the Munster team over the years. Second-row Ian Gough is the only survivor in the now Newport Gwent Dragons side involved this afternoon.