The Irish squad will take its first tentative steps toward a future without Mick Galwey or Peter Clohessy. A 37-man squad without either of the Munster legends was announced yesterday, seemingly for the first time since William Webb Ellis picked up a rugby ball, for a three-day get-together in Limerick next week.
As ever these things are as notable for those who have not been selected as those who have, especially bearing in mind the impending trip to New Zealand for a three-match tour featuring Tests against the All Blacks in Dunedin on June 8th and in Auckland on June 15th. The squad for that trip, likely to include about 26 players, will probably be announced next Thursday.
There is an extensive list of walking wounded who have not been named for the Limerick sessions, the squad for which assembles next Sunday evening, and these include Denis Hickie, Kevin Maggs, Kieron Dawson, Anthony Foley, Shane Horgan, Jeremy Davidson, Emmet Byrne and Jonathan Bell. The first three have been ruled out of the New Zealand tour already, though it is hoped that Foley and Horgan at any rate will be available. Nor have any of the under-21s likely to be taken to South Africa for the under-21 World Cup been included.
Even so, there will be some players acutely disappointed by their exclusion from this squad. Uppermost among these will be Bob Casey, Jeremy Staunton, Brian O'Meara, Justin Fitzpatrick, Mick O'Driscoll and Donnacha O'Callaghan.
Casey may already be suffering for his decision to head off to London Irish for the next two seasons, although his exclusion is ironic given the inclusion of Trevor Brennan. The frustrated Barnhall player is rumoured to be heading abroad as well and was not even included in a 43-man squad at the outset of the Six Nations championship, nor did he partake in the successful Ireland A campaign, in which by comparison Casey played a starring role.
The omission of Casey, along with O'Driscoll and O'Callaghan, a prodigious talent who had a storming game for Munster in their European Cup semi-final win over Castres and may yet find himself starting in the Cardiff final, underlines how competitive the jostling is for second-row places on the flight to NZ, though only four locks have been picked in this squad (Malcolm O'Kelly, Paul O'Connell, Gary Longwell and Leo Cullen).
By comparison eight back-rowers have been picked, if one includes Brennan, with the almost forgotten Johnny O'Connor the sole Connacht representative as one of three openside flankers.
The omission of O'Meara - Leinster's first-choice scrum-half all season - will be a severe jolt to the player himself, as he now appears to have been usurped by Ulster's Neil Doak, one of three scrum-halves chosen alongside Peter Stringer and Guy Easterby.
Less surprising perhaps is the latest setback for Staunton, who has been confined to peripheral roles for both Munster and Ireland A this season and has been overlooked for Irish squad sessions before. Nonetheless, it's remarkable to think that such a gifted footballer was but an injury away from a first cap on tour to Australia fully three summers ago when selected on the replacements' bench for the second Test in Perth.
Staunton has since won that elusive cap as a full back in the autumnal win at home to Samoa, when his performance received mixed reviews. In fairness to him, it was only his 11th game or so in that position and he grew into it the longer the match progressed. In any event, his reinvention as a full back hasn't really seen his representative career take flight.
The impression remains that a great talent is going to waste and given the outhalf problems facing Leinster in light of Nathan Spooner joining Emmet Farrell on the casualty list, a move to Donnybrook - be it short-term or long-term - might be in the best interests of all parties concerned.
IRISH SQUAD - Forwards: S Best (Ulster), T Brennan, S Byrne, V Costello, R Corrigan, L Cullen (all Leinster), S Easterby (Llanelli), K Gleeson, (Leinster), J Hayes, M Horan (both Munster), G Longwell (Ulster), E Miller (Leinster), P O'Connell (Munster), J O'Connor (Connacht), M O'Kelly (Leinster), A Quinlan, F Sheahan, D Wallace (all Munster), P Wallace (Leinster), K Wood (Harlequins).
Backs: J Bishop (London Irish), P Burke (Harlequins), G D'Arcy, G Dempsey (both Leinster), N Doak (Ulster), G Easterby (Llanelli), R Henderson, J Holland, A Horgan (all Munster), T Howe, D Humphreys (both Ulster), J Kelly (Munster), G Murphy (Leicester), B O'Driscoll (Leinster), R O'Gara, P Stringer (both Munster), P Wallace (Ulster).
