Learning lessons of Thomond downer

NICE TRIP, shame about the match. This week’s roadshow through Tipperary, Limerick and Carlow might have ticked plenty of good PR boxes for the FAI, even if this sort of thing tends to cut little ice with the media.

However, there was no doubting the genuine warmth of the welcome afforded the Irish management and squad at its impressive training base at St Michael’s football club in Tipperary town, where thousands of locals availed of the rare chance to see the boys in green in the flesh outside Dublin. Similarly, at the Institute of Technology in Carlow on Thursday, Giovanni Trapattoni once again charmed his audience while Packie Bonner spoke eloquently about the long-term value of the BA In Sports and Exercise in Soccer which was being unveiled on the day.

The only problem with all this is that what was supposed to be the highlight of the week actually turned out to be its lowest point. Ireland versus Australia was billed as both a full scale dress-rehearsal for the World Cup test to come and a historic night for international football away from the capital — but the event conspicuously failed to deliver on both counts.