Quinlan happy at sixes and sevens

DISCIPLINE. A 10-letter word that is never far from the mind of Alan Quinlan, the man who has been given the huge task of filling Ireland’s number seven jersey against Argentina in tomorrow’s crunch World Cup tie in the Adelaide Oval.

Eddie O’Sullivan obviously believes the problems Quinlan has had in this crucial area in the past are now behind and this as much as anything else prompted him to prefer Quinny to Keith Gleeson, the only recognised out and out open-side flanker in the party, for this huge game.

The concession of penalties blighted Quinlan's contribution on a few occasions, whether for Shannon in the AIL, Munster in Europe or Ireland on the international stage. He admits to a fiery temperament and there’s nothing wrong with that provided it is kept firmly under control. People he respects and advisors in high places have worked on the situation and Quinlan has clearly emerged a better and wiser forward from it all.

“Declan Kidney, Eddie O'Sullivan, Niall O'Donovan, Keith Wood, Mick Galwey, they’re the kind of fellas who have put in the time to help me in that situation,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it was something I had to get right in my own head and get under control. I don’t think it was a major problem. I just compete a lot.

“I'm a good competitor and maybe have a fiery side to me which has gone a little bit over the line on occasions.

But (it was) something that had to be addressed and still needs to be all the time, the same as lots of other guys have things they need to work on. That’s something I will always work on and never take for granted.

Quinlan never ceases to be amazed by the support and good wishes he receives not alone from his club, Shannon, but also from supporters of the Clanwilliam and all the people of Tipp town.

“It’s hard to acknowledge that at times but it means a lot to know people you like and respect are behind you and happy things go well for you. They are also the people I can talk to when things go wrong. It’s not every week things go right and they're there for me on the bad day as well. My parents John and Mary don’t miss any Munster game and Mary will be here on Saturday. She's coming on Mick Galwey’s trip and a few friends from Limerick and there are also five or six from Tipperary, Steve Nugent, Stan Waugh, Liam Hickey, Sean and Ger Buckley among them. Carol, my younger sister, got married a few weeks ago and has enough on her plate and my two older brothers Andrew and John will be watching on TV.”

Quick and agile as he is on and off the pitch, there was no question of overnight success for Alan Quinlan. Having been discovered by Shannon, he took a while to command a regular first-team place in the AIL's top-ranking club side. Munster also noted his progress but weren't always convinced. Ireland still weren't sure when he earned his first cap in the 1999 World Cup.

That first cap in 1999 came as a replacement against Romania in Dublin. It’s a role he has played on 11 of his 18 appearances but the elevation to the starting line-up for one of the most important matches this country has played indicates he has finally won around his detractors. The back-row unit of Quinlan, Victor Costello and Simon Easterby that takes the field tomorrow wasn’t predicted by many and is seen by some as a gamble.

“The first I heard of it was at training on Wednesday morning and I have to admit I was a little bit surprised,” he admitted. “But I was really, really happy to hear I was starting. Argentina are probably one of the most physical teams in world rugby so it's now a case of getting our heads around that physicality. I play the game quite physically and we’ve been told they’ve picked a team just to play Argentina in the World Cup and things can change week-in, week-out. Starting against Namibia must have helped my cause.

Not having had a match for five or six weeks, I felt a little rusty and was glad to get 80 minutes and now I’ll have a lot more confidence going into this weekend.”

Having played all his international rugby previously at No 6 or 8, you wonder if there is a little nagging doubt perhaps at the back of his mind that he isn’t quite clear about his role.

“We probably know what to expect from them, they're not going to go wide all that often”, he reasoned. “They’re going to pick targets at close range. Effectively, Simon (Easterby) and myself are two number sixes but I’ve no problem playing at seven where I had a full season last year for Munster. Anyway, the way the modern game has gone, there isn’t much of a difference nowadays. The line-out has been another positive for me and maybe another reason why they selected me.”