Gaffney decides to shuffle his pack

A FEAST in the pack, a famine in the back division.

That was the scenario facing Munster coach Alan Gaffney as he finalised his side to take on Connacht in the quarter-final of the Celtic League at Musgrave Park tomorrow, kick-off 7.35 pm.

The wealth of forward talent at Gaffney’s disposal is demonstrated by the naming of Mick O’Driscoll on the bench and the omission from the 22- man squad of the great Mick Galwey. Nor is there a place in the starting lineup for back row forwards of the quality of Eddie Halvey and Denis Leamy. Paul O’Connell returns in the second row for his first outing since the first Ireland-New Zealand Test last June. He partners Donnacha O’Callaghan in an area where we are certain to see fierce competition for places.

However, it’s an entirely different situation in the backs. Injury ruled out Jeremy Staunton, Dominic Crotty, Rob Henderson, John Kelly, Anthony Horgan and John O’Neill with the result that Gaffney had to seriously shuffle his resources to come up with a credible lineup.

Killian Keane, normally an outhalf or centre, fills the void left at fullback while Colm McMahon, who has made his name as an exciting openside flanker, lines out on the right wing. Conor Mahony, formerly of Cork Constitution but now playing for Clontarf, is included in the replacements panel. The strong running centre has been registered for the Celtic League but not the Heineken Cup, in which Munster have a date with the Italian side Viadana a week from tomorrow evening, again at Musgrave Park.

“Anthony Horgan should be right for the home game against Viadana next week and Jeremy Staunton was close to playing against Connacht so there’s every chance that he’ll make it as well,” said Gaffney. “Hendo has his arm out of the cast although I imagine it will be mid-January with him. John Kelly is progressing very well and he should be back for the away game against Viadana on December 14.

Dominic Crotty gets the plaster off next week and should be okay in another two-and-a-half weeks or so. John O’Neill, though, is very long term.”

Gaffney refuses to be downhearted. He could have gone to the clubs and brought in a specialist fullback and wing but preferred to stick with the players who have been involved throughout the season.

He believes to do otherwise would have sent out all the wrong signals.

“You look behind the pack, we have experienced players in very good form. I have the utmost faith in Colm McMahon and Killian Keane. Colm has played a fair bit on the wing and he’s not totally inexperienced there. He’s a smart lad. You’ve got to play with the cards you’re dealt.

“It’s a sign of the strength of the pack that we have Mick O’Driscoll on the bench and Gaillimh out of the 22 altogether. That’s obviously not based on form given the way Gaillimh has been playing great rugby and really enjoying himself. It’s not to say either of them won’t play next week. We also have the long standing thing between Leamy and Halvey. They’re both good players but when you’ve got so many good back row players of high quality, that becomes a difficult situation in its own right. But it’s a good situation to have.”

Gaffney also believes that in spite of all the injuries to the backs, he has the core of a strong side available to him tomorrow night. He suspects, though, that they will have to be on top of their game to dispose of Connacht.

“I’ve just been looking at three tapes of their games and they’ll be difficult. They beat Cardiff, Newport and Leinster so we’ve got to be fully on our guard.

“The draw is in our favour. We have a home quarter-final against Connacht and if we win that, a home semi as well. We feel we have a very good shot at the title. It rests in our hands and we’d love to pick up some silverware. The Heineken Cup is the most important but the Celtic League is a great tournament and we value it. It’s given us the opportunity to see players like Mossy Lawler and Denis Leamy and others who mightn’t otherwise have had the chance.”

Connacht go into the game without the injured Tim Allnutt, Warwick Waugh, Dan McFarland and Colm Rigney and, ironically enough, they will include several players with a Munster background, most notably the Garryowen pair Paul Neville and John O’Sullivan in the back row, prop Peter Bracken and Jerry Flannery and Eoin Reddan among the replacements.

MUNSTER: K Keane; C McMahon, M Mullins,

J Holland, M Lawler; R O’Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, F Sheahan, J Hayes, P O’Connell,

D O’Callaghan, J Williams, capt, A Quinlan,

A Foley. Replacements: C Mahony, M Prendergast, D Malone, S Kerr, J Blaney, M O’Driscoll,

D Leamy or E Halvey.

CONNACHT: M McHugh; G Duffy, D Yapp,

S Moore, capt, T Robinson; E Elwood, C Keane;

R McCormack, M Uijs, P Bracken, D Browne,

R Frost, P Neville, J O’Sullivan, J O’Connor.

Replacements: F Boiroux, J Flannery, M Swift, E Reddan, J Norton, W Munn.