PRE-SEASON PREPARATIONS: Gerry Thornleycasts an eye over the comings and goings at the four provinces as they prepare for the domestic and European season ahead
AGAINST THE backdrop of Irish rugby's restorative Kidney transplant, Connacht kick off the Irish season this evening with the first of the provincial pre-season games when entertaining the Leeds Tykes in the Sportsground.
The Magners League begins on the first weekend of September, in tandem with the English Zurich Premiership and a week after the opening two rounds of the French Top 14, and - what with the Lions' odyssey to South Africa next summer - the 2008-2009 season promises to be another long one.
With last summer's non-tourists linking up four weeks ago with their provincial team-mates (who have generally been in camp for the last seven weeks), Connacht's preparations are perhaps fractionally ahead of the others, all the more so given their limited involvement in this week's 45-man Ireland training camp. The Westerners went into pre-season on June 16th though against that, under the new Ireland regime, the internationals are being made available from the outset of the Magners League.
Furthermore, Matt Williams has been a busy boy in Ulster, where the Springboks World Cup prop BJ Botha is expected to be another significant signing, their eighth of the summer to offset the loss of so many front-liners. They have had an intensive pre-season training camp in Portugal, at which Williams said most of the players set personal bests in the gym and on the training ground.
While Connacht have four pre-season games lined up, with Harlequins, London Welsh and the Queensland Reds all to follow Leeds to the Sportsground, Ulster host the first of three visitors to Ravenhill next Friday when Bath arrive in Belfast, to be followed by the Reds and Mike Ruddock's Worcester Warriors.
Then again, Ulster's need for an intensive pre-season is greater this year given they have experienced a flight of Wild Geese proportions in the close-season, obliging Williams to recruit painstakingly to build a largely remodelled team.
As last season completed a four-year World Cup cycle, there's been a significant-enough turnover in personnel at Leinster and Munster as well. The biggest changes at the European champions though are off the pitch, where Tony McGahan heads up a coaching structure in the province featuring eight new or positional changes.
Aside from McGahan's promotion in place of Declan Kidney and the arrival of Laurie Fisher as assistant/forwards coach in place of Jim Williams as well as Paul McCarthy, Jason Holland has been moved from video analyst to backs coach, with Mossy Lawlor assuming the former role. Anthony Foley has also been co-opted as an assistant forwards coach in supplementing his roles with the Munster As, under-20s and Academy.
Welcoming the arrival of new players and the increasing emergence of indigenous talent to wear the red jersey, McGahan says: "We've integrated a new, fresh, younger management team to do the same thing."
While Keith Earls and Ciarán O'Boyle have been upgraded to full contracts and Mike Prendergast has returned - Gerry Hurley having been surprisingly released - Foley's retirement has been partially offset by the arrival of the Auckland Blues number eight Nick Williams, whom McGahan hopes will bring a new skill set to the back row.
"We would hope he will bring a very strong ball-carrying game off the back of the scrum, and we would also expect him in general play to really get us going forward in regards to momentum and maybe bring a bit more of an offloading game to us. Defensively, we think he's going to be very dynamic and bring some impact in our defensive line."
However, a golden era of Munster home-grown backrowers is seemingly coming to an end, and with Denis Leamy sidelined until November, McGahan admits they are still on the lookout for a short-term signing in that department. Given that is unlikely, opportunity will knock for the likes of James Coughlan, John O'Sullivan, Donnacha Ryan, Niall Ronan and development players such as Billy Holland and Mark Melbourne.
Munster, whose 2007-2008 season obviously ended after the other provinces with their Heineken Cup success on May 24th, went into pre-season a week later than their counterparts and have only two warm-up games: they play a USA selection in Connecticut before hosting London Irish in Musgrave Park.
But McGahan is content with that, seeing the American break as a reward for the players, a chance to train and play in warmer weather, while also allowing the management and squad some down time together "to enjoy the sights of Boston and also each other's company".
Munster begin their Magners League campaign away to Edinburgh and with their internationals available from the start McGahan is hopeful they can be real contenders on two fronts this season.
"We've proved ourselves in the (Heineken) Cup, now we really need to prove ourselves as a squad at a domestic level," he says.
Leinster will not have their high-profile signings Rocky Elsom and CJ van der Linde until after the Tri-Nations finale between South Africa and Australia on August 30th in Johannesburg, although the ex-Auckland Blues utility back Isa Nacewa is already in situ and will be among those travelling to Italy for a two-match, week-long pre-season camp in Michael Cheika's old Padova stamping ground.
"Padova is where I first coached and they have excellent facilities there, with seven pitches and a huge indoor gym," says Cheika. "Everything we need is in their complex, and it will be nice to get away to some hot weather.
"Our base will be in town, which will also allow the players to visit Venice or Verona - do a bit of tourism. We've games on the Wednesday in Padova and Saturday in Treviso and different players are on different cycles, so most will get a game. But there'll be some team building as well. The idea is not to lock them up."
Aside from their three Southern Hemisphere recruits, Leinster have concentrated on upgrading home-grown young talent from their academy in the shape of Fergus McFadden, Eoin O'Malley and the young Tullow flanker Seán O'Brien.
With Elsom boosting the back-row options, there are high hopes O'Brien can help fill the considerable void left by Keith Gleeson by challenging Shane Jennings for the openside berth.
"If we work hard and play to our abilities the results will follow," says Cheika, exuding confidence in the prospects of the Magners League champions.
Connacht have been buoyed by the acquisition of one full Irish international (Kieran Campbell) and three Irish A internationals (Frank Murphy, Seán Cronin and Ian Keighley) as well as an Irish under-20 international (Fionn Carr). They've also acquired the finishing abilities of ex-Wasps and Glasgow winger Mike Roberts and the imposing 100kg Samoan centre Niva Ta'auso - who doesn't arrive from Otago until late September/early October.
"The speed of the ball from nine to 10 was a bit of an issue for us last season and the arrival of Frank and Kieran, with Conor O'Loughlin still there, gives us strong options. Ian Keatley is one for the future but he'll be given opportunities, and we still have Andy Dunne and Nathan Troy, while Fionn and Mike will put pressure on the wings. The competition for places in the back line will certainly be intense," says coach Michael Bradley.
Although Connacht have been obliged to rebuild, there will be nothing like the drain on their resources the World Cup imposed on them 12 months ago and, as Bradley accepts, a more realistic target must be to finish above the Dragons and "try and get four Irish sides into the Heineken Cup. Last year we were extremely close to qualifying and it would be great boost to do so." Ins, outs and itineraries
ULSTER
Ins: Ed O'Donoghue (lock, Queensland Reds), Cillian Willis (scrumhalf, Leinster); Ian Humphreys (outhalf, Leicester Tigers), Robbie Diack (number eight, Western Stormers); Clinton Schifcofske (fullback, Queensland Reds); Timoci Nagusa (winger, Tailevu Knights, Fiji), Daniel Roache (prop, development); PJ Botha (prop, Natal Sharks).
Outs: David Humphreys (outhalf, retired), Simon Best (prop, retired), Tommy Bowe (wing, Ospreys); Justin Harrson (lock, Bath), Neil Best (flanker, Northampton), Roger Wilson (eight, Northampton), Matt McCullough (flanker, NEC Harlequins), Mark Bartholomeusz (utility back, Padova), Kieran Campbell (scrumhalf, Connacht), Niall Conlon (prop, Cambridge), Matt Miles (hooker, released), Mark Kettyle (fullback, released).
Pre-season: Aug 15th: v Bath, Ravenhill (7.30pm); Aug 22nd: v Queensland Reds (7.30pm); Aug 27th: v Worcester Warriors, Ravenhill (7.30pm).
CONNACHT
Ins: Kieran Campbell (scrumhalf, Ulster); Frank Murphy (scrumhalf, Leicester Tigers), Seán Cronin (hooker, Munster); Ian Keatley (outhalf, Connacht), Fionn Carr (fullback, Leinster); Niva Ta'auso (centre, Otago Highlanders); Mike Roberts (winger, ex Wasps and Glasgow).
Outs: John Fogarty (hooker, Leinster); Peter Durkan (La Rochelle), Matt Mostyn (fullback/winger, retired); Darren Yapp (winger/centre, retired); Kevin Moran (released), Tom Tierney (scrumhalf, retired), Conor McPhilips (winger/scrumhalf, St Mary's College).
Pre-season - Aug 9th: v Leeds, (6.30); Aug 16th: v NEC Harlequins; Aug 22nd: v London Welsh, (6.30); Aug 26th: v Queensland Reds (7.30), all Sportsground.
LEINSTER
Ins: CJ van der Linde (prop, the Cheetahs); Rocky Elsom (flanker, NSW Waratahs); John Fogarty (hooker, Connacht); Simon Keogh (winger/scrumhalf, NEC Harlequins); Isa Nacewa (utility back, Auckland Blues); Seán O'Brien (flanker, Academy); Fergus McFadden (fullback, Academy); Eoin O'Malley (centre, Academy); Jonno Gibbes (forwards coach, Waikato); Alan Gaffney (technical consultant, Saracens).
Outs: Keith Gleeson (flanker, retired); Ollie le Roux (prop, retired); Cillian Willis (scrumhalf, Ulster); Ross McCarron (fullback, returning to college); Michael Beirne (centre, Australia); Richie Leyden (backrow, released), Christian Warner (utility back, Roma).
Pre-season: Aug 20th: v Padova (away); Aug 23rd: v Benetton Treviso (away); Aug 30th: v Queensland Reds (Donnybrook, 6.0).
MUNSTER
Ins: Nick Williams (number eight, Auckland Blues); Mike Prendergast (scrumhalf, Gloucester), Keith Earls (centre/wing, development to full contract), Ciarán O'Boyle (wing, development to full contract), Laurie Fisher (assistant/forwards coach), Jason Holland (backs coach).
Outs: Anthony Foley (number eight, retired); Mossy Lawlor (utility back, retired); John Kelly (winger/centre, retired); Shaun Payne (fullback, retired); Gerry Hurley (scrumhalf, released), Eugene McGovern (prop, released), Declan Kidney (coach, Ireland).
Pre-season: Aug 23rd: v Unites States XV, Rentschler Field, Hartford, Connecticut; Aug 29th: v London Irish, Musgrave Park.
