Gleeson v Back could be deciding factor, says Gaffney

MUNSTER coach Alan Gaffney is adamant the battle of the breakdown between openside flankers Keith Gleeson and Neil Back could be the deciding factor in Sunday’s Grand Slam showdown.

Gaffney has eight of his players in the Ireland 22 for the Lansdowne Road clash, four of them in the starting XV, but it is Gleeson, his former charge from his Leinster days as assistant to Matt Williams, whom the

Australian feels will have the pivotal role against the English.

"Both sides have been good in the set piece so far this season, but for me one of the most enticing contests is going to be at the breakdown, which basically means Neil Back v Keith Gleeson," Gaffney said.

"Gleeso has the edge over Back in terms of size, but Back has other attributes he can bring to the game as well. For me that is the battle to watch, and with all the other plots in the game, it will be a contest in itself."

As an honorary Irishman, Gaffney's colours are nailed firmly to the Irish mast for Sunday's match and he told the Planetrugby.com website: "I really hope I have a hangover on Monday. I'll be there myself with the Munster contingent, and it should be a great day for all the Irish fans. But England are very good right across the paddock, and looking at it you'd say that the English go into it as favourites and rightly so.

"I'm very confident of an Ireland win. The players have a lot of belief in it, and so do I."

Despite having so many of his Munster players and former Leinster colleagues involved, Gaffney has resisted the opportunity to get in touch.

"I may send one or two of the Munster boys a quick text message on Friday or something to wish them luck.

"But I've purposely not been contacting them because when they're with the national squad they're under the charge of Eddie O'Sullivan and his team.

"It's a huge thing for them and the Irish, you have to understand that. They haven't won the Grand Slam for 50-odd years.

"The tension is building here, and they're sitting on the doorstep of greatness.

"Sure, you might think that the media pressure would add to it a bit, but the national team boys have been around for a while now and they're used to it.

They'll steer away from reading and watching too much of it, and they put enough pressure on themselves to be going on with. They have to focus on their job."

Perhaps the player bearing the most pressure is captain Brian O'Driscoll. But the Munster coach said the gifted centre was well able to cope with the increased responsibility.

"People might have thought it an odd decision to make Brian captain," Gaffney said. "I didn't at all, and he has the right people around him to remove a bit of the burden.

"Ireland are lucky in that, like us at Munster, they have a solid base of senior professionals who can help Brian and communicate with the players during the game, people like your Anthony Foleys."