Gaffney happy to be back in familiar surroundings

ALAN GAFFNEY last night returned to Thomond Park, a ground he knew and loved from his time with Munster, as he looked forward to helping mastermind an impressive performance from Ireland in tomorrow’s clash with Canada.

It was at the helm for Munster in their unforgettable Heineken Cup win over Gloucester at the Limerick venue in January, 2003. He then moved on to become backs coach to the national side back in his native Australia before returning to the Northern Hemisphere where he linked up with Saracens.

As if to prove there was no breaking of the umbilical cord that tied the amiable Aussie to Munster, he coached the English club in last season’s semi-final at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry where only two points separated the sides at the finish.

Now, he’s back in this country and Limerick again, as backs coach to the national side as they prepare for the first test of the new regime against the Canadians at a venue unrecognisable from Gaffney’s time there.

“I watched the game against Glasgow and found it a very impressive stadium,” he glowed. “It’s a fine venue for the game at the weekend and great for Canada to play at such a place as Thomond and the history that goes with it. If you talk to a lot of the Australians who played here during the World Cup, they still have very fond memories of Limerick.”

Although Gaffney seems, like countless others, just a little unsure about the significance of tomorrow’s game in the context of qualification for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, he claims that he is “expecting a fairly difficult contest”.

“Canada are not full of professional players and we understand that. But the one thing we’ve got to do is pay them a great deal of respect.”

Gaffney added: “Without being disrespectful to Canada, this game has slotted nicely in before the matches against New Zealand and Argentina. Those two teams are in the top bracket of international rugby while Canada are one of the minnows. So it is a good game for us and one we won’t take lightly.”

Ireland’s new defence coach, Les Kiss, is another Australian who has arrived with a big reputation from his days as an outstanding Kangaroos rugby league winger, later as union coach with the Springboks and after that the Waratahs in his native country. He is probably still feeling his way in the Irish set-up and for now anyway, isn’t promising any radical change in the way things are done.

“Defence in my book is more about decision making rather than being part of a defensive line,’’ he said. “It’s about trying to read opportunities in a game to make sure we can have a great influence on the game when we don’t have the ball.”

* The IRFU announced last night that a limited amount of terrace (€25) and stand (€40 and €32) will be on sale today at the Munster Branch offices in Musgrave Park and Thomond Park from 10 am to 4 pm today and on match-day at the match stadium from 12.30pm.