Henderson back in Munster squad

ROB HENDERSON has been added to the Munster squad for the Celtic League final against Neath in the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

But the 1999 Lion will have to spring from the bench if he is to play a role in Alan Gaffney’s team.

Henderson has been named in a 23-man squad to be whittled down to 22 in Cardiff tomorrow.

Gaffney admitted yesterday it would be a difficult call to make in deciding whether to leave any of the 22 players involved in the victory over Gloucester out of the equation.

It now appears a decision will have to be made between Henderson and Colm McMahon, the Shannon back row player who filled in as an alternative wing for Munster’s depleted squad in recent weeks.

There was no immediate way back for fellow international David Wallace who, like Henderson, made a return after a long lay-off last weekend. “We have to look at getting the balance right. We have to look, for

instance, at one of the centres getting injured early on and we cannot ignore a player coming back from injury now that he has got a game behind him.

“We have made no decisions and will wait until we have to. It’s a balancing act, that’s what it is. But, I suppose, whatever decision is made, it will be the wrong one,” laughed Gaffney.

Captain Jim Williams insisted Munster had come back down to earth after their stirring triumph over Gloucester in the last pool game of the Heineken Cup on Saturday week.

“I’m just glad there is a fortnight between these two games because it was, certainly, a bit difficult last week. We were on a high after that win but we fully realise this is a whole new ball game, a different set of circumstances and another major game.

“We know this will be very tough. We respect Neath for what they have achieved and the message has been hammered home to us that we were a bit fortunate to beat them in the earlier stages of the competition. We had a bit to spare at the end but it was still a tough game.”

Hooker Frankie Sheahan said: “It was one of the toughest matches I played in this season and I have no doubt we will have to peak again to get over this one.

“Neath have a strong scrum and lineout and Lee Jarvis gets massive height on restarts which does put pressure on the opposition.” Sheahan is in no doubt this decider will be what he termed “a dogfight” up front.

“It will be imperative we get on top of them in the forward exchanges. We cannot afford to sit back and let them come at us and certainly, with Jarvis in the team, we can’t afford to concede penalties inside our own half either.”

If Gaffney and his team need any convincing about the dangers posed by Neath, the coach will look back to the early stages of the Heineken Cup.

Neath began their campaign with a home draw against Leicester and everyone associated with the Munster squad is conscious of that.

In the meantime, Heineken Cup organisers ERC will back Munster in their demand for more than 4000 tickets for the quarter-final against Leicester.

ERC have already written to the European champions reminding them of their responsibilities under the terms of the Participation Agreement.

All clubs and provinces in the tournament signed an agreement that states visiting teams must be offered up to 25% of the capacity of the home venue. In the case of Welford Road (16,807) that would allow Munster the right to demand 4,200 tickets.

Additionally, Leicester would be required to facilitate ERC in a demand for an unspecified number of tickets for the sole use of the governing body.

The club was reminded of those responsibilities in a letter from ERC yesterday. ERC have promised to

support Munster in their demands and spokesman Diarmuid Murphy said he was sure the matter would be resolved quickly.