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?

As for the Munster pack, I’d back them against anyone. Overall then, if Munster perform to their capabilities, they should win.

The point is though, this is bigger than just a Heineken Cup game. The injection of hope that Ronan O’Gara spoke of before the England game is badly needed. Irish rugby at the top level is now precariously balanced and could go downhill with the slightest wrong push.

You would hate to load any more pressure on this team than is already there, but a loss here is an unbearable thought. Forget the ‘Miracle Match’, forget all those great Thomond afternoons and evenings; this has to be another Welford Road, April 2003, that memorable afternoon when Paul O’Connell and Donncha O’Callaghan really announced themselves to the rugby world.

Munster produced a competent and professional display last Friday night in Galway. Given the conditions, there was no question of a four-try bonus-point display, so there were two major goals for Munster — get the win and the four points, and avoid major injury. Both were achieved.

But a thought struck me during that Munster/Connacht game, in which Connacht defended superbly and fought gamely to the end.

Why doesn’t the IRFU offer the western province the same support it offers to Munster, to Leinster, to Ulster? I was in Wales last week and they’ve used the Irish model as a basis for their current success and formed themselves into regions. But Wales have four, and all are treated equally - why can’t the IRFU do the same here? At half-time on Friday night, the Connacht youth team was paraded for the crowd, Irish champions for the second year in a row, so there is potential there. Remember too, Connacht was the first Irish province to win in France.

I was talking to Johnny Ryan over the weekend, a sport guru who has appeared in this column before, and he had this suggestion; instead of each province being allowed six overseas players each — three high-profile and three others — why not allow four high-profile players each, use the best of Irish upcoming talent to fill the other positions, and properly fund Connacht? Look at the talent currently not being used regularly in Leinster and Munster and ask yourself, how would Connacht do if they had these youngsters in their ranks? There is plenty of talent in Irish rugby, more than enough to support four top-class teams with the kind of reinforcement suggested above, four top-class players in each province.

The IRFU should bite the bullet on this and invest in those players. Munster have been flying the Irish flag with honour in Europe for nearly a decade now, and mostly with homegrown players. Connacht doesn’t have as broad or as deep a base as Munster but there is a passion for rugby in the province, they do produce their own quota of top players. Unlike in the GAA, however, where a few counties dominate because they have and keep all the best players, free movement is allowed in rugby. Currently, because Connacht don’t compete in the Heineken Cup (they might yet qualify for next season), young players are reluctant to make the trip across the Shannon.

Open up the purse strings, however, give the province a level playing field, and it wouldn’t just benefit Connacht — Irish rugby would gain.