Thomond a huge factor, says Wood

KEITH WOOD believes that Sale have no idea how important the Thomond Park x-factor can be when they face Munster in Saturday’s crucial Heineken Cup showdown.

A bonus point win for Declan Kidney’s side against the Guinness Premiership leaders would guarantee them a place in the last eight.

It’s the type of scenario that routinely creates an intoxicating atmosphere at Thomond, and Wood isn’t sure Sale appreciate that fully.

“Sale are a fine side but I don’t know if they know quite what to expect,” he said. “I remember when I was playing with Quins coming over here to play and trying to explain to them what it was like. All they would say was, ‘yeah, sure’. They could never seem to get their heads around the concept of complete silence for the kicks and the manic support for the rest of the game. It’s not something they’re used to from the Premiership in the UK.”

The retired Munster and Harlequins hooker expects another nailbiting afternoon for the faithful in Limerick.

“It’ll be a heart-stopper. You’ll need to take an aspirin in the morning just in case. It makes for fantastic viewing but it’s bloody hard to do it week after week and I think that affects us down the line actually.

“Munster have a very proud record there that’s not to be overstated or understated. I think we’re good enough to win and qualify for the quarter-finals. It will be one of those horrible, fascinating games to watch where Munster will probably win by a point.”

Wood, in Dublin to promote the Kick for an RBS Six Nations Ticket event also welcomed the news that the GAA, IRFU and FAI had agreed a deal which would see rugby and soccer played at Croke Park in 2007.

“I’m not sorry I’m retired but it is one of my regrets that I didn’t get to play there. It’s one of the best stadia in Europe and one that we haven’t really utilised fully. I understand why we haven’t, but now that this first step has been taken I would like to see it utilised more,” he said.

Welsh legend Ieuan Evans said the news had captured the imagination in the UK while current Irish international Malcolm O’Kelly praised the GAA’s decision to open its doors.

Damien Duff recently told this paper the shabbiness of Lansdowne Road was a plus for Irish teams in the past and that playing in the revamped Croke Park might motivate visiting teams to up their game.

“That’s a very negative advantage if anything. The rugby team kind of see Lansdowne as it is as a disadvantage,” O’Kelly explained. “We want to go out and play rugby against teams, take teams apart.

“The conditions that you can face at Lansdowne Road at times can be very tiring and actually hinder you as a home team. The conditions can have a huge effect on the result. Against Italy last year there was a horrendous wind blowing straight down the ground that made it very hard to play any sort of controlled rugby. It will be missed though, there’s a lot of memories there for a lot of people.”