Wallace won’t be hiding in face of Stade storm

THOMOND PARK was a bitterly cold address yesterday.

There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to take shelter from the bitter wind howling out of the frozen north or from the occasional near-horizontal hailstone shower that threatened to blast holes in the flapping flags.

It was the kind of morning when any normal smart young professional would be wrapped up well. The Munster men are indeed smart, are ultra-professional, but they are not normal.

Yet, even among the many lunatics cheerfully galloping around the back pitch clad only in togs and tracksuit top, oblivious to the weather, one was probably happier than most to be there.

For too much of the past several seasons, David Wallace could only sit and watch as his team-mates on various Munster and Irish squads went through their training routines in the lead-up to big games.

Injury after debilitating injury, beset the big Munster flanker. But now, four days before Munster’s big home date with Stade Francais Wallace is flying.

“You really miss it when you’re not involved. Even when you’re half-involved it’s not the same buzz, you’re dying to get really stuck in, so, even on days like today, you’ve got to count your blessings when you are out there.”

A recognised world-class talent and former Lion, 27-year-old Wallace should have far more than his current haul of 19 Irish caps. He would have but for a combination of the injury jinx that struck at the most inopportune times, and the outstanding form of Keith Gleeson.

Out in the cold when the squad was announced for the recent Six Nations tournament, it is ironic then that it was an injury suffered by Gleeson that once again opened the international door for Wallace.

Just over a fortnight ago, in a typical barnstorming performance, it was his solo tackle-breaking try in the last quarter that broke the Scots and signaled the beginning of the Irish Triple Crown party.

It also heralded the return of David Wallace to top-class action.

“Yeah, it’s a huge step up from Celtic League to international level, the pace of the game, the quality of the opposition, of the play, you really have to sharpen yourself for it, and from that point of view it’s great to have had that game under my belt so soon before the European Cup.”

Wallace is not too worried about the effect of international duties on provincial preparations. The team spirit so evident in yesterday’s storm in Thomond will, he believes, see them through.

“Obviously we haven’t had a lot of time together to prepare for this one game, but everyone says that every year, that we’ve had a long break, not a lot of time together as a unit, yet we’ve always been able to cope.

“So many of this team are playing together anyway, with Ireland, that they know each other very well; the team as a whole has been together more or less anyway for several years, Everyone knows the ins and outs of what’s required, they know each other’s play and from that point of view, I wouldn’t have too many fears.”