Watch their backs and we’ll be fine, says confident Gaffney

Barry Coughlan

Gaffney, like most coaches, believes Leinster’s backs are amongst the most talented in Europe. “I don’t think I need to state the obvious with guys like Brian O’Driscoll, Gordon D’Arcy, Denis Hickie, Shane Horgan and Dave Holwell in the side. It’s a pretty formidable back line, to say the least.

“All bar one has played for Ireland and there is quality there that a lot of teams would be envious of.”

He also knows the Leinster pack won’t roll over. “There has been some negative comment about the Leinster forwards but I disagree. They’re all good players, competitors and they are capable of presenting a challenge to any of the European sides.

“All one really has to do is to talk to the Munster guys who would put you straight on the issue.

Gaffney is confident that Munster will compete vigorously, right from 15 to one. “I think we have a few handy backs ourselves, guys that are well capable of producing top-notch performances.

“We’re pretty confident after beating them in Musgrave Park earlier this season; it’s a question of keeping their backs short of quality possession.

“We know we have to play particularly well, we know that we have got to play better than we did in the last couple of weeks, but we’re capable of doing so.”

One of the worries is that Leinster have home advantage: The Leinster players can amble down to Lansdowne Road from their own homes on Sunday. That type of thing can make a difference in the build-up to a big match.”

While Gaffney declined to elaborate, it’s clear Munster are not happy being drawn away from home.

One Munster Branch official remarked yesterday: “It seems strange that the top two teams in the Celtic League have been drawn away from home in the semi-final,” referring to the fact that Munster have to go to Dublin and Neath/Swansea Ospreys, the champions, to Llanelli.

Gaffney’s biggest worry now is to ensure that Munster take another step towards winning some silverware.

“Our focus was, naturally enough, on the Heineken Cup, but we put a lot of effort into the Celtic League as well.

“We had a pretty disastrous start and our first four games were, to my recollection, a bit of a nightmare. But we found our feet and our form from then on was pretty impressive. If we had enjoyed a better start we could well have won the tournament but that’s life too.”

Gaffney leaves Ireland at the end of the season, and next week his contribution to Munster rugby over three years will be celebrated at a function in Cork.

But he hopes that Sunday will not be the end of his tenure: “I want to leave on a positive note. I want to ensure that the players get some reward for all the effort they put in over three years.

“I don’t think this is so much about me getting a good send-off because there are other guys involved, people like Jim Williams and Jason Holland, who have contributed hugely to Munster’s high profile in recent years.”

MUNSTER: S. Payne, J. Kelly, M. Mullins, R. Henderson, A. Horgan, P. Burke, P. Stringer, M. Horan, F. Sheahan, J. Hayes, D. O’Callaghan, P. O’Connell, A. Quinlan, A. Foley (captain), D. Wallace.

Replacements. P. Devlin, J. Manning, M. Prendergast, D. Leamy, T. Hogan, G. McIlwham, J. Flannery.