Gaffney warns Henry to steer clear of Cullen

MUNSTER coach Alan Gaffney has issued a guarded warning to new All Black coach Graham Henry — steer clear of Christian Cullen.

Cullen’s international career with New Zealand came to premature end under the regime of John Mitchell and Robbie Deans with the full back describing the two in his autobiography, Life on the Run as “jokers,” who he “didn’t trust from day one.”

However, since Henry, a long time admirer of Cullen replaced Mitchell after the World Cup, there has been speculation that he may entice the full back to return to the Southern Hemisphere.

Cullen has a three year contract with Munster and Gaffney believes he will honour that commitment, even in Henry comes calling.

“If I were a coach of New Zealand, I would certainly be thinking of how a very special talent was allowed out of the system.

“Having said that, we have had the odd discussion and I am fully confident that Christian’s commitment is with us. He moved to Ireland after giving his future a lot of thought and I am happy that he will become a very influential figure for Munster over the next three seasons,” he said.

Cullen, who has yet to play for the province following shoulder surgery, will meet with a specialist later this week to assess the progress of his recovery.

The William Webb Ellis Trophy will be on display at Kingsholm for the meeting of Gloucester and Munster in Pool Five of the Heineken Cup on Saturday afternoon. England’s World Cup winning manager Clive Woodward will also be in attendance.

The final available tickets for Munster’s match against Gloucester at Thomond Park were distributed yesterday. Over 9,000 people applied for the final 1,280 tickets.