Foley travels full circle to take captaincy

Anthony Foley will captain a remodelled Irish XV against the South West Districts here today. Only Peter Clohessy and Gabriel Fulcher have been asked to start both of the first two tour games, as the Irish management seek to give all but three of the original 33-man squad an early run-out.

The one mild surprise sees Trevor Brennan picked ahead of David Corkery, who has to be content with a place on the replacements' bench. Sitting alongside him is Malcolm O'Kelly, who will probably be given a run-out in preparation for Saturday's game against Western Province. Paul Wallace is clearly being kept in reserve for the Tests.

The management obviously feel they can extract another outing from Clohessy and Fulcher before the Tests. Without the experienced Young Munster tighthead, Ireland's front-row would have been too green for a South West pack who are reputed to be even more robust than Boland's. Warren Gatland and Donal Lenihan will have had one eye on the fourth tour game, against Griqualand West next Tuesday, when they will not want to risk any of their front-line players for what is expected to be the most physically bruising encounter outside of the Tests. Better, then, to blood all the midweek side now rather than against the abrasive Griquas.

There will be some surprise that Foley has been chosen to captain the side ahead of his Shannon team-mate, Mick Galwey, although Foley revelled in the role when leading Shannon to a league and Munster Cup double this season. As an aside, it could bring the best out of the number eight. "Mick is there as a senior player and is there to support him (Foley) 100 per cent," Gatland said after training yesterday. "Anthony is also a player who could lead us in the future. He has worked physically as hard as anyone else in the last 12 months, and we just need to respect those points."

So completes a remarkable turnaround for a player who was reduced to a glum and peripheral figure on the Development tour a year ago. Foley was briefly dropped for Munster's European Cup campaign, but was re-installed following injuries. It was probably the Shannon captaincy which completed his international rehabilitation, though he still needed a couple of timely and inspired performances in the knockout stages of the league to force his way into this squad.

Foley was first told about the captaincy as long ago as last Friday and dutifully kept the secret until yesterday. "It's a great honour for my family, Shannon, Munchin's College, the town of Killaloe - it's unbelievable like. I was a bit surprised when they said it to me, to say the least, but I seem to have played some of my best rugby as a captain, so hopefully the same goes on Wednesday. "I'll lead from the front, get the ball in the hand, put in some tackles, a bit of urgency and total commitment, which we seem to have in training. It's the first time I was ever involved in a training session that was cut short. All the lads seem to be up for it."

Indeed, yesterday's intense, high-octane session highlighted the benefits of concentrating on one session per day. Many of the drills featured tackle bags, focusing on fringe defence off broken play and then quick re-alignment off turned-over possession, as well as some restart work.

The unity and sense of purpose amongst those on duty tomorrow seems no less intense, which is hardly surprising after the visible lift provided by Saturday's win over Boland.

Justin Bishop is thrust straight onto the replacements' bench following his arrival, in typically ebullient mood, yesterday, and he seems none the worse for his long journey. He is not likely to be kept in reserve beyond Saturday, and, when given the chance, the inform London Irish flyer - a big tackler who is adept at defending outside-in because of a similar four-up defensive system at his club - could well press for a Test place. The slightly porous defending of the wingers was a nagging concern in the win over Boland.

Gatland is expecting "a very physically big, forward pack who will punch around the fringes". But, in a rare example of the confidence within the squad, particularly following the encouraging win over Boland, the Irish coach added with a glint in his eye: "I'm not unduly concerned with the opposition's fitness. Somebody asked me could we live with the pace of the games out here. I just hope that these teams can live with the pace of our game."

South West will not have an influx of Super 12 players for this encounter, only hard-nosed lock Thys Stoltz and tight-head Jaco Espagd have been fringe players for the Western Stormers. Their one Springbok is Theo van Rensburg, who won the last of his seven caps against the All Blacks four years ago.

Looking ahead to Saturday's game against Western Province - theoretically a "third Test", though a game which the likes of former Irish scrum-half Roger Young (now resident here) believes Ireland can win - the Currie Cup holders will not be at full strength.

Johnny Trystman, South Africa's form lock of the Super 12, has been ruled out with bronchitis, injuries have sidelined scrum-half Joggie Viljoen and flanker Corne Krige, while full-back Percy Montgomery and left-wing Pieter Rossouw are on duty with the Springbok squad.

But the Springbok coach, Nick Mallett, has released lock Selborne Boome, Andrew Aitken and Bobby Skinstad.

Ireland: C Clarke; R Wallace, K Keane, R Henderson, K Maggs; D Humphreys, B O'Meara; J Fitzpatrick, B Jackman, P Clohessy, M Galwey, G Fulcher, T Brennan, A Foley (capt), D Wallace. Replacements: J Bishop, M McCall, D Hegarty, J Hayes, A Clarke, M O'Kelly, D Corkery.

South West Districts: T van Rensburg; M du Toit, C Stoltz, C Corff, B Vorster; J Benadie, F Roberts; S Wagner, T Webb, J Espagd, T Stoltz, J Kapp, F van Zyl, L Hattingh, D Frans.