Gaffney in race to find replacement for Cullen
The former All Black was yesterday ruled out for the remainder of the season after a medical scan revealed ligament damage to his shoulder.
Cullen sustained the injury during the Celtic League defeat by Cardiff Blues on Saturday and Gaffney described the news as a crushing blow.
All Heineken Cup teams can add two new players to their squads in advance of the quarter-finals, but Gaffney’s dilemma is greater than most. Munster had 15 backs in their original squad, including three scrum-halves. Now, with one of the number nines superfluous for any given match and Cullen and Mossie Lawlor both ruled out with injury, they are down to 12 backs to compete for 10 places in a match squad of 22.
Gaffney sympathised with Cullen yesterday when he said: “This is a tragic blow from his point of view as well. That’s twice in 14 months he has had serious damage to his shoulders. It seems to be an epidemic because Mossie (Lawlor) and David Pusey will also be out for months with similar injuries.”
Gaffney said he had been on the point of adding the two replacements before the deadline at noon on Thursday.
“Now we will have to give the matter more serious thought because we need cover for Christian at full-back, and we will need cover for wing/centre if we move Shaun Payne back to No 15.
“It’s a difficult call to make because there is not much time, particularly if we have to look at players from outside the country.
“Time is really against us because these players, if not from the province, have to be registered and there are a lot of rules and regulations to be adhered to.”
Gaffney said he had spoken to some of the senior players in a bid to come up with some names.
“We will leave no stone unturned in a bid to find suitable candidates to add to the squad but I’m not so sure we have time on our side. I feel gutted for Christian and a major concern now is to ensure the players who are standing will still be standing by the time we get to play Biarritz in the Heineken Cup on April 3.
“No matter what happens in the next couple of days, we can’t afford to lose any more players because the whole thing has already become a drama. There will be lots of phone calls and we can only pray that the rest of the guys stay healthy before our trip to France.”
Meanwhile, Wallaby lock Justin Harrison has signed a three-year deal with Ulster.
Harrison is expected to arrive in time for next season, though Ulster are yet to confirm the deal.
The 30-year-old, who has 34 Test caps and played for Australia in the 2003 World Cup final, made the surprise decision just two weeks into the new Super 12 season.
ARU managing director Gary Flowers said: “Australian Rugby made Justin a very good offer, for a player of his experience and standing in the game and he was well aware that we were prepared to continue the negotiation process.
“Justin was given the opportunity to continue his career in Australia, but in the end he has decided to head overseas.”
Harrison made a memorable Wallabies debut in the deciding Test against the Lions in 2001 and won the Super 12 with the ACT Brumbies before moving to the NSW Waratahs last season.
Meanwhile, Leinster fly-half Christian Warner is going back home to Australia. The 29-year-old has expressed an interest in joining the Perth Super 14 franchise under former All Black coach John Mitchell. The former NSW Waratah was lured to Europe over three years ago by French club Pau before moving to Leinster.
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