Cullen may join Gaffney’s unusual suspects
As well as unveiling a new logo, adding a stag to the famous three crowns, Gaffney last night unveiled the names of 31 of his 34-man squad for the 2003/04 season, including new signings Shaun Payne from Swansea, ACT Brumbies lock David Pusey, and returning Munstermen Eoin Reddan at scrum-half, hooker Jerry Flannery and lock Donal Sheahan.
But it was the three AN Others on the list that invited speculation.
Gaffney confirmed he had been in talks with Cullen’s agent but, having lost out on Chris Latham in May when the Wallaby full-back made an about-turn on his decision to join Munster, he was keen to play down the possibility of the player nicknamed the Wellington Express joining his side.
Cullen, out of favour with All Blacks coach John Mitchell, having been omitted from the three-Test series last month against England, Wales and France, has still to put pen to paper.
Gaffney said: “His name’s been thrown up and I won’t deny his agent has been spoken to. It’s not a fact we chase Cullen, his name was put to us by his agent and Christian is in the pot with a number of other players at the time.
“Obviously a player of his quality is not a player you would dismiss readily. He’s a rather exciting talent, but then again there are a number of other exciting players around.
“And you mustn’t forget we’ve got Jeremy Staunton also. He’s capable of playing 10, 13, 15, and we’ve got to work out this year what best suits the squad.
"With the demands placed this year on people like Ronan O’Gara and the rest we would expect to go to the World Cup.
“We’ve got three contracts left to fill and we’ve got eyes on a number of people and we hope to resolve that within the week, the next seven days, hopefully.
"We need a prop, we’re looking for an outside back, and we’re also looking for someone to play in the back three. Whether we can or whether we can’t I don’t know, but we’ll be trying.”
With Cullen obviously the first choice for the back three spot, Gaffney also confirmed that Australian-born Wales and Newport centre Jason John-Hughes was also in talks about a move to rejoin the coach, who has known him since he was a raw 13-year-old.
The 6ft 4in 26-year-old is in the game-breaking mould Gaffney is seeking, as Munster continue their push for Heineken Cup glory after four successive defeats at either the final or semi-final stage.
“Jason’s a player I know very well. There’s no doubt about it that he’s a very good player. I first coached him when he was 13, so our union goes back a long way.
"There was a big tug-of-war between Wales and Australia back in 1999 and he opted for Wales, but then he had some bad injuries and had a knee reconstruction 18 months ago.
"He had an ankle injury again last year but he’s been sound for the last six or seven months, and he’s a player we’re definitely interested in.
"There’s a lot of other parties interested but I think Jason would like to come here and get involved. He’s aware of the way I coach and he’s been pretty happy with that in the past.”
Of the players already on board, Gaffney said: “I’m pretty excited about what we’ve got at the moment. There’s been some natural wastage but that’s not a bad thing. It’s always good to get new blood in. These are exciting times.”
Former Natal Sharks winger Payne, 31, has joined from Swansea, while Gaffney has also signed 23-year-old former Australian U-21 lock Pusey from the ACT Brumbies, where he also saw Super 12 action.
Both are Irish qualified, with Payne qualifying through Sligo grandparents on his father’s side.
“It’s an added bonus as far as we are concerned. We’re trying to keep as many Irish players as we can. We can only have two people non-European qualified, but we’ve been trying to get that down to two non-Irish. We haven’t quite made it this year but we will achieve that.”
Munster kick off their season with a Celtic League pool game against Leinster on September 6, and although former captain Mick Galwey was not among the players announced last week, Gaffney said: “At this point in time Gaillimh is not taking a full-time contract. That’s Mick’s choice, but he will definitely be involved.”
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