Cold weather, warm reception for Ireland

A WARM reception and snowy weather.

Ireland’s World Cup squad were due to get the best of both when they touched down in New Zealand in the early hours of this morning.

More than 200 people, a mixture of Irish supporters and Queenstown dignitaries and schoolchildren, were expected to greet head coach Declan Kidney and his squad to their training base for the next eight days when the team’s plane landed at 4am Irish time, 35 hours after leaving Dublin.

Accompanying the welcoming party, however, was expected to be a late spring snowfall as the South Island lakes and ski resort experienced a sharp dip in temperatures and a cold front moved in to the area.

Skiers are still on holiday in Queenstown, making regular trips up the Skyline Gondola to the high peaks overlooking the resort on the shores of Lake Wakatipu but the town itself was last night preparing for a coating of snow as temperatures dropped to just 1C with even colder weather to come over the weekend.

Ireland begin their training tomorrow at the Queenstown Events Centre, nine days out from their opening Pool C game in New Plymouth on the North Island against the United States.

But not before receiving the traditional Maori welcome to Queenstown this morning, a Powhiri, at the airport terminal, then a speech from the town’s mayor Vanessa Van Uden and a kapa haka performed by local schoolchildren.

The squad left Dublin on Tuesday without loosehead prop Cian Healy and centre Gordon D’Arcy. Healy is due to fly out on Saturday after injuring an eye socket during last Saturday’s final warm-up game against England, while D’Arcy’s departure to New Zealand has been delayed until today after he picked up a calf strain during training on Tuesday. Kidney, captain Brian O’Driscoll and team manager Paul McNaughton are set to face the New Zealand media for the first time tomorrow at Ireland’s tournament arrival press conference.