Walsh hoping new faces will deliver

BRIAN WALSH, who is enjoying such a highly successful spell as coach of a Cork Constitution side striding away at the top of the AIB All-Ireland League table, spreads his wings this evening when taking charge of the Irish team playing Scotland in the AIB club international at Donnybrook, kick-off 7.35pm (RTE 2, 7.30 pm).

This is the third in the series of matches involving players who don’t or have never had a professional contract and, naturally enough, it is hugely popular with those whose ambitions don’t go beyond representing their clubs over the weekend while holding down a day job for the rest of the time.

This is a relatively inexperienced Irish side, with nine new caps. Teamwork, or rather the lack of it, could pose a problem for Walsh given that 11 clubs are represented, with Cork Constitution, Clontarf, Lansdowne and Dolphin providing two players each. Cronan Healy of Con and Dolphin’s Barry Keeshan were part of the side that defeated England last season before losing 18-11 to tonight’s opposition in Edinburgh. Front-row forwards Damien Varley of Garryowen and prop Simon Shawe were also members of the 2007 squad and the side is captained by Lansdowne second-row Alan Maher.

“There are a number of new faces but we are hoping they will inject the same kind of enthusiasm as the previous teams have shown,” says Walsh. “We’ve had a couple of excellent training sessions, with the guys appreciating that it is a very big honour to represent your country at any level. It is something that many of the players may not have had the chance to do in the past or to do again.”

Scotland, who are coached by Ian Rankin, go into the game full of confidence, having defeated Wales 34-7 at Caerphilly earlier this month and, of course, they also came out on top in last year’s meeting of the sides.

IRELAND: D. McKechnie (Greystones); C. Healy (Cork Constitution), G. Stafford (Lansdowne), E. Moloney (Dolphin), M.R. McDonald (Clontarf); B. Keeshan (Dolphin), R. Cushion (Old Belvedere); M. Gateley (Highfield), D. Varley (Garryowen), S. Shawe (Ballymena), A. Maher (Lansdowne)(C), S. O’Connor (Cork Con), S. Crawford (Clontarf), J.E. O’Connor (UL Bohemian), H. Hogan (St Marys College). Replacements: D. Murray (Cork Con), R. Sweeney (St Marys), M. O’Connor (Cork Con), P. Malone (Garryowen), S. Cronin (UCC), A. Kingsley (Garryowen), A. Finn (Shannon).

SCOTLAND: S. Ruddick (Boroughmuir); M. Teague (Heriots), G. Thomson (Dundee HSFP), M. Clapperton (Boroughmuire), R. Couper (Boroughmuire); A. Skeen (Watsonians), R. Snedden (Currie); G. McNeill (Heriots), S. Crombie (Boroughmuire), J. Welsh (GHA), D. Kelly (Ayr), A. Adam (Currie), T. McVie (Heriots) capt, R. Weston (Currie), A. Martyn (Boroughmuir). Replacements: P. McArthur (Ayre), G. Mountford (Stirling County), G. Dodds (Melrose), G. Oommen (Dundee HSFP), G. Cottrell (Boroughmuire), C. Goudie (Heriots), D. Brown (Watersonians).