Season of impending bloom kicks off

LONG TIME no see lads ... so how was your summer? Mine was like a box of Pringles (paprika-flavoured). It opened as though it would last forever and suddenly vanished like a Greek sprinter when the testers are in town.

Although it feels strange discussing the summer in a week when every office secretary-pool seems consumed with Christmas parties, the fact is that, though the months passed quickly, this year’s rugby off-season felt like the longest on record.

The season officially kicked off many weeks ago but only truly began last weekend when Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan released the international stars from his gulag and allowed them game time with their provinces.

The positive effects of Ireland’s 10-week boot-camp remain to be seen, but there was certainly no immediate benefit as our top players looked decidedly rusty when they eventually emerged blinking onto the pitch, while a spate of injuries has also raised question marks over the whole exercise.

The results, we are told, will become evident in the long-term.

Whether this means we should not expect too much from the autumn internationals is not clear, but if Ireland do not impress against South Africa and then fail to match their second-place Six Nations finish of last season, there will be a case for Eddie to answer.

But let us not be too critical too early because, on paper, Ireland’s prospects have rarely been rosier.

Never have we had so many quality options in so many positions. The second row, back row and three-quarters are awash with exciting possibilities and, while the quality depth in the front row and at half-back remains a concern, we could still have our largest ever Lions representation on the tour of New Zealand next summer.

Which brings us to one of the more interesting stories of the past few weeks, the saga of Mr Johnny O’Connor, that much-hyped Wasps flanker considered a cast-iron certainty for Clive Woodward’s Lions squad, despite never having represented his country.

When it emerged that England were looking for the Connacht man to switch allegiance, it predictably caused something of a furore. Intriguingly, O’Connor’s protestations were less-than-vehement, a risky approach as O’Sullivan has never responded well to gun-to-the-head tactics.

However, it is hard to imagine how O’Connor could be left out of the squad for the upcoming internationals given the long-term injury to O’Sullivan’s favourite Keith Gleeson and the fact that it would end Anglo-interest in the flanker.

This is bad news for the man in possession of the number seven shirt, David Wallace. In this column’s humble opinion, Wallace has been one of Munster and Ireland’s top performers over the past five seasons and has not got as many caps as he merited.

However, for all his phenomenal ground-gaining abilities, Wallace does not conform to the current preference for traditional grass-hugging opensides and the startling emergence of Denis Leamy in Munster has further hindered his cause.

As well as claims to many squad places, Ireland has realistic designs on the Lions captaincy in New Zealand, with Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell the most realistic challengers to Jonny Wilkinson for the role.

England’s golden boy faces a tough season as his country’s figurehead and if he falters, the Lions could have their first Irish captain since Ciaran Fitzgerald endured his torrid tenure in the same country in 1983.

So, for our top players, it is a season brimming with promise (and profit), which places in stark contrast the plight of one of our ex-internationals, Darragh O’Mahony. Having plied his trade in England for eight years, the last six on the Saracens first team, O’Mahony was looking forward to seeing out the last year of his contract with the London club before slotting into a backroom rugby role.

Then Rod Kafer, Saracens’ Australian coach, unapologetically cut him loose in late August.

The timing was critical as most teams had already finalised their squads when O’Mahony found himself thrust in the shop window.

Though he has continued to train on his own and remains in peak condition, the winger admits the last eight weeks have been “the blackest of my career”.

Unable to secure a club contract, the 31-year-old plans to return to Cork to try to procure employment on civvy street having been cocooned in a track-suited world for nigh on a decade.

Sometimes professional rugby is not all it’s cracked up to be.