Due to regulations from the International Board whereby countries must play the same number of away games as home games, annual summer tours are going to become the norm. While they are undoubtedly beneficial for coaches who are developing teams, they will soon lose their novelty value with players.
Remembering the last three summers - Lions tour to South Africa, Irish tours to South Africa and now Australia - you'd also wonder how the leading players can possibly cope with such a schedule.
Next summer Ireland will undertake a three-match Test series in Argentina (whom they entertain this August), Canada and the United States.
Given that the following year, 2001, features a Lions tour of Australia, some of Ireland's leading players may give next year's tour a miss. If not, they will certainly miss the one-off Test fixed provisionally in Romania in June 2001.
Under the proposed tour schedules recently agreed by the IB, Ireland will then undertake a tour of New Zealand in 2002 and will return to Australia again for a tour in 2003.
Under a brilliant full moon at the inaptly, rectangular-shaped Woy Woy Oval last Monday night, the Irish were made feel abundantly welcome and sent on their way with best wishes for the rest of their tour by a PA announcer and the applause of a 5,000 crowd.
However, the match programme is an undoubted collector's item. The opening line of the opening address from NSW Country president Laurie Maher takes some beating. "With great pleasure I welcome on behalf of NSW Country Rugby, the president of the Irish Rugby Union, Mr George Spotswood (sic)." As the real president, Noel Murphy might say, and undoubtedly did on arrival in Sydney yesterday: "You can't say that."
Other gems were contained in the team sheets. To Donal Lenihan's unbridled amusement, David Corkery's club was listed as: Cork Institution. "Merely proves what we all knew anyway," ventured Lenihan of his beloved Constitution.
Better still, Tom Tierney's addendum was also Cork Institution. "No wonder you played so well, Tierney," Lenihan informed the scrum-half afterwards.
After Wednesday's harbour trip across to Manly to the north of Sydney, it would have been remiss of the Irish squad not to take in the Olympic stadium following their training session on the west side on Thursday.
The trip became the photo opportunity of the tour. One of the most striking features of their tour was the temperature-controlled aquatic centre, which contained a 10-lane Olympic pool, a warm-up pool, an eight-lane 50 metre (training) pool, a water polo pool and a leisure pool.
"And we haven't got one," was a common comment. Yet the place was heaving with activity, and the sight of so many youngsters availing of the facilities - a dozen kids aged between six and nine were being taught how to swim in the slow lane of the Olympic pool - shows how these things can be used by the community as well as for showpiece events. They don't have to be white elephants.
The centrepiece of the tour was the Stadium Australia, which has just recently been completed, three months ahead of schedule. The 110,000-seated capacity arena will host all the track and field events, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. A rugby league double header (easily the biggest game hereabouts) has already drawn 105,000, but England's Test against the Wallabies here on June 26th is already being billed as an attempt on the world record audience for a rugby game.
Yesterday's final session before the game against New South Wales took place in Matt Mostyn's alma mater, St Ignatius College in Riverview. Though designated a closed session, most of the school turned out for the 45-minute run-out. A surprise visitor was Lansdowne's Gordon D'Arcy, another of the new, bleached blond brigade.
While Mostyn was lining out for Ireland, the New South Wales team featured Dublin-born Keith Gleeson, whose Irish-born father and Aussie-born mother moved to Australia in 1983. The Waratah openside flanker broke into their Super 12 team towards the end of the recent campaign and has captained the Australian under-21 side to the 1997 Four Nations championship.
"I have lived in Australia most of my life and I tend to regard myself as Australian. Obviously I appreciate my Irish background, but the green and gold is my priority," says Gleeson.
"I would like to play in Europe at some stage in my career and the match against Ireland will give me a chance to see what the competition looks like. To be honest I would prefer to play for Australia, but if things didn't work out playing for Ireland is something I would consider."
