Top Cat Dowling on form and ready for impact

WHEN HE arrived, it was somehow out of the blue. Even Munster supporters were jolted by Ian Dowling’s immediate impact.

One Saturday, he’s playing for Shannon in front of a couple of hundred supporters in the AIL; the next week, he’s in a red shirt for a glamour Heineken Cup tie away to Castres in the south of France. There was a sizeable Kilkenny following there, that cold January night in 2006, and he felt right at home.

“There is a group of lads from the rugby club (Kilkenny RFC) that travel to all the games. When I’m involved in these games, I always see them and meet up with them afterwards. They somehow get onto the pitch too. I remember that game against Castres, my first away game. My nickname back home was ‘Skinny’ and I could hear that from the stands. That was fairly comforting for me.”