Another potentially nasty stand-off is brewing between the IRFU and London Irish over the availability of the Sunbury club's players for the Ireland-Italy game on December 20th.

London Irish, perceived as the enemy abroad by some sections of the union, are taken aback by what they see as a mixture of arrogance and hostility toward them. In the short-term, this could leave them seriously under-strength for a league game against Bristol on December 20th. In the longer-term, there is clearly a need for both parties to engage in mutually beneficial consultation.

Regarding the December 20th clash, former Ballygowan president Geoff Read, who is the head of the consortium which has taken over London Irish, points out that unless at least five of their players are included in the Irish squad for the trip to Bologna, the club will not be entitled to seek a postponement for their potentially vital relegation four-pointer.

"However, we don't want to force the players into making a club versus country choice," said Read. "What we're hoping for is to go through the various issues that pertain to us with the union. Arranging games on the same day that we have league matches raises repercussions for us. We want to sit down and try to find a co-operative approach."

In particular, Read is angered by claims that London Irish are in some way working against the union and the international team. "I would like to fully reject that claim. We are extremely pro-Ireland and we want our players to play for Ireland."

Read points out that five of their players are in the Irish squad for tomorrow's game, a figure that might have been seven but for injuries to Conor O'Shea and Jeremy Davidson.

"But it's not simply a case of the IRFU deciding they should play an international match on a certain date without consulting us. This has repercussions for all the players," Read said. "If we don't run the club properly, we're not looking after the interests of our players. Surely we should be in consultation to decide that these fixtures take place in agreed periods. It's a simple logic."

Read stresses that London Irish are not seeking financial compensation. "It would be nice if we were offered it, but we're certainly not seeking it and we've no expectation of it."