‘Madness to award O’Sullivan contract’

FORMER England hooker Brian Moore has launched a scathing attack on Eddie O’Sullivan and the Irish squad for their performances at the Rugby World Cup.

Moore, now working as a rugby pundit, branded the decision to award O’Sullivan a four-year contract before the tournament as “madness”, but also attacked the players for their abject performances in France.

“The awarding of a four-year contract to Eddie O’Sullivan before a ball had been kicked was madness,” said Moore. “But in the end, the players have to hold their hands up and face the unpalatable, but ultimately irrefutable, truth that they did not step up to the plate when it mattered most.”

Moore said the performances of the Irish provinces in the opening round of the Heineken Cup was in total contrast to the poor displays in France. Leinster pulled off a stunning victory over Leicester, while Munster went down in agonising circumstances to champions Wasps at the Ricoh Arena.

“What would all Irish rugby supporters have given for a modicum of the passion, flair and doggedness shown by their countrymen representing the provinces at the weekend in the Heineken Cup?” asked Moore. “It is scarcely believable that the very same men contrived not only to under-achieve several weeks ago in the Rugby World Cup, but to do so in such abject fashion.”

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Moore said the IRFU’s review into the performances at the World Cup will be useless unless it can “include individual scrutiny of each player’s contribution to the debacle”.

“When strong rumours persist about players being hauled out of taxis to prevent them leaving, fights on planes and the like, you know something fundamental has gone wrong,” Moore claimed. “Will the reviewers have the courage, or even the mandate to investigate these delicate issues? Unless they do, Ireland cannot take steps to remedy the real cause of under-performance.”

The IRFU has employed an independent consultant to carry out a fact-finding exercise through confidential consultation with involved parties. Team management, coaches, players and administrators will all be canvassed.

Meanwhile, Connacht coach Michael Bradley wants his side to get their European Challenge Cup campaign back on track when they take on Spanish side Cetransa El Salvador on Friday.

This will be the first of four successive home matches for Connacht at the Sportsground with Friday’s clash with the Spanish side being followed by Magners League games against Ulster and Glasgow Warriors. After that, Newcastle Falcons come to Galway for the first of the back-to-back clashes between the sides in the European Challenge Cup, with Connacht travelling to the north of England the following week.

But for now Bradley wants them to look no further than Friday’s encounter with Cetransa El Salvador as they bid to bounce back from the disappointing 15-9 loss away to Brive.

“This was the second game running where we didn’t take our chances. It’s something we hope won’t be repeated, but it was disappointing because we should have put them away. We played very well in the opening half and thought we had a try from Conor McPhillips, but the referee did not see it that way, so we went in six points down,” he said.

Former Irish international Matt Mostyn could return on Friday. Mostyn, 33, has been out of action with a couple of serious injuries over the past year but made a successful comeback with Galwegians at the weekend and could be in line to return to the Connacht side.

Bradley will check on a number of fitness reports before finalising his squad tomorrow — prop Ronan Loughney is another player on his way back from injury.

“We have a lot of injury problems at the moment, so we just need to take stock and manage the players so that they are back in action as soon as possible,” said Bradley.

Meanwhile, Ulster lock Tim Barker is set to leave the club and transfer to Castres. The move will see 26-year-old Barker link up with his former club coach Jeremy Davidson who, having cut his teeth in the All-Ireland League with Dungannon, took up a senior coaching position at Castres during the summer.

Davidson who, like Barker, played in the second row, is currently working alongside head coach Ugo Mola, the former French full-back.

Barker returned to Ulster at the start of the 2006-7 after a stint with the Glasgow Warriors and his current Ulster contract was set to expire at the end of this season.