Alex Codling ready to bring lineout mastery to Munster

MUNSTER MARCH: Ireland women's forwards coach Alex Codling. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady.

Alex Codling’s arrival into the room was announced by a personal sing-song. Asked what he was singing, he couldn’t recall. He has a tune in mind all the time, apparently. Too many songs to remember.

Ask any member of this Ireland squad about Codling and they focus on two things: he loves the lineout and he keeps them entertained. He doesn’t disagree on either front.

“It’s well documented I like lineouts, it’s probably the reason I’m on this planet,” he says, only half-jokingly. “I’m obviously a relatively big character in lots of different ways,” another later quip.

After this World Cup, Codling will bring his lineout expertise to Munster. On a full-time basis. He’s been linking up with Ian Costello and co since November whenever time allows.

When Munster played La Rochelle during a Six Nations down week, Codling was in Limerick for the build-up. Ahead of the following match, a European defeat to Bordeaux, he could only come in on the Thursday, driving down from Dublin when the women had a day off.

Wanted by both camps, Codling ultimately had to decide where to stick.

“It’s like everything in life, if you do two jobs there’s a risk of doing two not as well as you like,” he says.

"When the [Munster] opportunity arose, you look at it, both parties were very open. Both understood.”

This hasn’t been Codling’s first dalliance with Munster. As a player, he lined out alongside Keith Wood at Harlequins. The former Ireland hooker may well have had a hand in creating a lineout guru.

“Every player, to get into a team you have to have an area of strength,” explains Codling.

“I probably had a different perception of where I was to reality. Keith, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to. He was very blunt, he sat me down and talked to me about where my game was if I wanted to kick on.

“I love the game generally, but I love the combat, the technical area [of lineouts] around how you can win the ball, how you can take the ball away from the opposition, the tactical element, trick plays and all the bits and pieces, ultimately how you make players better.

“As an Englishman I’m aware of the history of Munster, I saw them a lot on television. I’ve played and coached against them, but it’s only when you’re in the building you understand the history.

"When I got off the bus in La Rochelle, there’s probably four, five thousand Munster fans in the middle of France. It puts hairs on the back of your neck. They’re the moments you play for.”

Meanwhile Aoife Wafer appears unlikely to feature in Ireland’s second World Cup game against Spain despite returning to training this week.

Ireland’s influential backrow, who has suffered a pair of knee injuries that left her battling to be fit for this tournament, only arrived in England last weekend, therefore missing the preparation for Sunday’s win over Japan.

While she took part in training on Tuesday and Wednesday, her role was limited.

“She's working really hard, she's coming back and is very close,” added Alex Codling.

“As a coaching group, it's important we make sure that moment is right for her and right for the team, so we'll monitor that over the next couple of days.

“I'm not working directly with her, but in terms of running, she joined in with the lineouts, that gives an indication that she's on track and going really well.” Ireland co-captain Edel McMahon came through 75 minutes in her own return from a knee injury on Sunday. The backrow also had a limited part in training on Wednesday and was wearing a protective brace after the session.

“It's important for us as a coaching group where we just manage the loads of players,” said Codling.

“She's been out for a while, she was exceptional at the weekend, so we're just making sure she's fit and ready.” Codling’s area of expertise, the lineout, saw mixed results over weekend. Ireland lost possession four times on their own throw - including in the build-up to Japan’s opening try - but it also created many opportunities for Irish scores, no more than Neve Jone’s first half maul try.

"What happened was we started really well, we had a little wobble after about 15 or 20 minutes,” explains Codling.

“Those elements were around us, just around our process, but I think it's important to remember this is a young group that has exponentially grown across all areas in the last 12 months.

“What I was really proud of was the second half, we really kicked on, and but for a couple of little handling areas we would have got a couple of more tries with the set-piece, and an interpretation of one of the tries [a penalty try was chalked off for obstruction], which was just out of our control.

“There's always some little bits and pieces, new combinations, players have come back from injury. It's just another game under the belt, understanding the way this competition is, spending time in a foreign environment.

“These are the things that as you spend more time together, it becomes easier.”