Galwey lends his support to Quinlan

Mick Galwey has given his backing to Alan Quinlan ahead of the Munster flanker’s disciplinary hearing in Dublin tomorrow.

Quinlan has been cited for alleged eye-gouging of Leinster captain Leo Cullen in the Heineken Cup semi-final defeat at Croke Park, with his place in the Lions squad for the summer tour to South Africa at stake.

The Tipperary man will be handed a lengthy ban if found guilty of the offence, but he’s received strong support from former Munster and Shannon team-mate, Mick Galwey.

“Yes, Alan Quinlan’s hand made contact with Leo Cullen, but if there was an issue here, Leo Cullen would be the first one to put his hand up and say there was some sort of gouging involved,” said the ex-Munster captain.

“Leo hasn’t done that and neither have the Leinster Branch. That’s the thing about rugby; if someone did gouge you it would be reported, but it wasn’t. I’ve been eye-gouged in my time and it’s something no player would stand for.

“People might think it’s a cover-up, but it’s certainly not. There’s no place in the game for that type of thing and I know for a fact that Alan didn’t do it. He made contact with his face but that’s the nature of the game.

“I think Leo Cullen had Paul O’Connell by the throat at the time and that’s something people didn’t see. I’ve spoken to Alan about it and there was never any intention of eye-gouging there.”

Galwey admits, however, there’s a strong possibility the three-man independent disciplinary committee will come down heavily on Quinlan.

Meanwhile, Declan Kidney has selected 12 uncapped players for the series against Canada in Vancouver on May 23 and Eddie O’Sullivan’s USA in Santa Clara, California, eight days later.

Article courtesy of the Evening Echo newspaper.