RUGBY: As the round-robin stage of Division One approaches its climax,Gerry Thornley examines the changing times that have seen Limerickpowerhouses Garryowen and Shannon bring on an array of new, exciting talent
If Shannon and Garryowen were arguing over a boiled egg on a runway it would probably have an edge to it and draw a crowd. Sure enough, today's Division One clash between two clubs with a combined tally of six titles is once again something of a summit meeting, a televised clash between first and fourth which is liable to draw Limerick's biggest crowd of the season and have a major bearing on the play-offs.
Time was when Shannon would have led the way in complaints about the non-availability of international players, now they lead the way in coping without contracted players. Necessity being the mother of invention, Shannon saw the writing on the wall when their 11 contracted players were tied up with Munster's run to the European Cup final two seasons ago.
Such has been the young crop's success this season that the return of the two stalwarts of their four-in-a-row years - Mick Galwey and Anthony Foley - is now regarded as a mere bonus. Indeed, they may start on the bench. "I would find it very hard to change the team," admits coach Geoff Moylan, after a run of seven wins out of eight.
For starters how could he drop Shannon's mature-beyond-his-years captain, number eight and leading try-scorer, 24-year-old David Quinlan? "Probably our player of the season," says Moylan. Or either of their converted flankers in the second row, Brian Buckley and Tom Hayes? "Outstanding," says Moylan.
Likewise, a niggling injury to David Wallace may be something of a blessing in disguise for Garryowen - who have invested in their very own Academy - given the form of Paul Neville, Peter Malone and Colin Varley in their back row. Of more concern is their calming, tactical leader Killian Keane, with Garryowen sweating on his calf injury. Keane is their leading try-scorer, but more pertinently the best of their outhalves in combining tactical kicking and moving the line.
No less than Shannon, who have the promising, nippy and tough-tackling Mossie Lawlor, as well as the premier strike runner in the All-Ireland League in John Lacey, Garryowen also have their gamebreakers in Jeremy Staunton and dangerous French winger Cyril Tupiniere.
"The scrum is small and a little light, but extremely tight," says former player and club PRO, Eoghan Prendergast, of a former Achilles heel now corrected. "A lot of the success this season is down to Andy Earl. The players worship the guy. He's a real players' coach. He's loyal to them and they're loyal to him."
Garryowen this season bucked their customary trend of starting poorly by losing only one of their first nine, their failure to win any of their last three against Galwegians, St Mary's and Cork Constitution more down to opponents who've had their contracted players back than any loss of form.
Shannon, by contrast, were slow out of the traps in losing two of their first four, but have since won seven of their last eight. "Our fitness levels weren't good enough because we only got in Dave Mahedy in early September and he warned us we would struggle for six weeks. We led UCD by 17 points with 12 minutes to go and blew up," admits Moylan.
After scratchy wins over Ballymena and DLSP, defeat to Blackrock in round four was a turning point, Quinlan admitting that "we had some home truths in the dressing-room after that game". The gamble on switching winger Niall McNamara to outhalf paid off - "he's cheeky enough to play there," says Moylan.
It's also striking how the teams, despite rebuilding with new, young sides, have retained their clubs' essential identities. Garryowen have been the most ambitious and effective at recruiting - think of John Mitchell, Brent Anderson, Andy Leslie, Connie Botha and even the lesser-known Van Humphreys, who makes his Waratahs Super 12 debut today.
Their teams always scrap, like dogs with a bone, and apply unrelenting pressure on their opponents, then cut loose with talented backs in opponents' territory and eke out results over 80 minutes.
"Andy has moulded a team cut from the Garryowen cloth," says Prendergast. "We'll not give in. We've lost matches, but we've never given up. It's an indefinable thing, part of the culture and history of the club, and influential guys like Pat Whelan and Frank Hogan are part of that aspect as well." This Shannon team, like those before them, are savvy and streetwise, preferring to play to talented backs but adaptable to the conditions. They play for territory if necessary, while rarely panicking.
"For young lads they really have experienced heads on them," says Moylan."We're not going to try and bludgeon them. We've got good backs and we want to use them, and we will use them," vows Moylan. "I think it's going to be an absolute cracker to be honest with you."
