Coaches sweat ahead of Celtic League games

CELTIC LEAGUE coaches Matt Williams and Alan Gaffney are both sweating ahead of their respective matches this weekend against Glasgow and Ebbw Vale.

Victor Costello (Leinster/St. Mary’s College) and Alan Quinlan (Munster/Shannon) have both being called into the Irish squad from which the team to play Romania will be picked today.

The players have been drafted into the squad as precautionary cover for Anthony Foley (Munster/Shannon) and Eric Miller (Leinster/Terenure), who are both carrying rib injuries.

The Leinster and Munster coaches, who were at one with Leinster over the last year or so, now have their own particular problems because of the demands made on their players in the Irish context. Of all teams involved in the Celtic League, the two Irish provinces will be most affected over the next month in relation to unavailability of players.

The Irish Rugby Football Union have, however, stated that neither Costello or Quinlan, will be precluded from playing in the Celtic League this weekend provided both Foley and Miller recover from their injuries.

Leinster, the Celtic League champions, would be more worried because they have to travel away to take on Glasgow, who defeated Cardiff in Cardiff on Saturday.

Munster, at least, started off on a triumphant note by beating Llanelli at Stradey Park and home advantage against Ebbw Vale should be enough to secure a second successive win, even without Quinlan and Foley, amongst others.

Meanwhile, half of the Heineken European Cup round one pool matches will be televised live and ERC hope to reach an accumulated audience of over five million.

The Heineken Cup has been established as the major club rugby competition in Europe and Irish clubs will feature strongly in the opening televised games.

Munster have reached two finals in three years and their opening game away to Gloucester will be featured on the BBC network on October 12.

RTE will televise Leinster’s match with Bristol live on the previous evening from Donnybrook on the same evening that champions Leicester Tigers take on Neath at the Knoll.

London Irish make their European Cup debut away to Toulouse on October 12 and will, no doubt, have a word with former Munster coach Declan Kidney to find the winning formula. ERC’s chief executive Derek McGrath expressed delight that the BBC, RTE and French television had shown such interest in the early stages of the tournament. “We will also have British Eurosport on our portfolio and that is an added bonus.”

The list so far reads

BBC Network: Gloucester v Munster, October 12. Bristol v Montferrand, October 19

France Television: Toulouse v London Irish, October 12. Biarritz v Northampton, October 19.

RTE: Leinster v Bristol, October 11, Munster v Perpignan, October 19, Munster v Viadana, December 6, Leinster v Montferrand, December 13, Leinster v Swansea, January 10 2003, Munster v Gloucester, January 18, 2003.

BRITISH EUROSPORT: Leinster v Bristol, October 11, Toulouse v London Irish, October 12, Northampton v Ulster, October 13, Newport v Toulouse, October 18, Swansea v Leinster, October 19.

BBC Wales: Neath v Leicester, October 11, Newport v Toulouse, October 18.

BBC Northern Ireland: Northampton Saints v Ulster, October 13, Ulster v Cardiff, October 18.

S4C: Cardiff v Biarritz, October 12.