Ireland’s future at stake in Kingsholm

THE Heineken Cup quarter-finals always seem to come around sooner than you’d expect but here they are again, and there again is Munster.

I can’t help feeling nervous. The murderous draw Munster got at the pool stage meant they were certain to drop points, which meant that even if they topped their group, they would probably be off on their travels again. And so to Gloucester, Kingsholm, The Shed and all that. Hopefully the new seeding system, which sees Munster now ranked number one in Europe, will see us avoid such a scenario in the future. For now, though, we have to deal with what we’ve got.

Why the nerves? I don’t know. Looking through the teams, looking through the squads, I think Munster have the better side. Gloucester have Balshaw at full-back, Munster a choice of Hurley and Payne — advantage Munster with either man. They have the Volcano, Vainikolo on the wing, along with Simpson-Daniel, we have Howlett and Dowling - again, I’m happy with our two. Munster’s centre and half-back pairings... would you swap?