Gatland pleased with reunion

They came in droves to the Irish squad session in Greystones yesterday - the players that is. Rarely can there have been such a large Irish squad, as 46 players either took part in or observed the work-out in Dr Hickey Park.

But at least the first seasonal get-together brought unseasonably good weather, and there was method in the apparent madness.

It seems the senior and A squads will be working in greater harmony than ever before. Apart from working with uniform fitness regimes and diets, they will even be using the same "calls" in games.

To that end, the new A coach, Mike Ruddock, was at the session, and all of this should, in theory, smooth any transition from A to senior level.

"We picked a squad that we felt would either be involved in the senior team or the A set-up throughout the year," said coach Warren Gatland, "so that if a player does happen to force his way onto the senior side from the A team, he will have been a part of it from the start. He knows the set-up, he knows the players and so we're hoping that the step up will be quite smooth."

The main purpose of this first get-together was "organisational", according to Gatland, "so that we can concentrate solely on the football when we next get together, rather than having to worry about administrative matters."

Accordingly, the squad will trimmed to a more manageable "26 to 28" for the next of these three-day get-togethers on October 24th, when the players will be based in Finnstown House, Lucan. All three days will be open.

One of the first issues to be addressed will presumably be that of captain, though the management have still to make up their minds.

"We haven't made a decision on that, but I wouldn't think that will deviate too much from what took place in the past," said Gatland. This would seem to suggest that Keith Wood will be reinstated, though possibly Paddy Johns could continue on from South Africa.

Interestingly, Gatland expressed himself "very happy with the general fitness of the backs in all areas. A few players were injured, so we couldn't fully test everyone, and we're still looking for improvement in the props and a couple of the loose forwards."

The Irish coach also observed that the intensity of yesterday's session was "a lot better than the one before South Africa - it was a step up from that - and a helluva lot better than the Wednesday sessions last year. There were a few mistakes, but the players have set a benchmark that we can work off. The players recognise that, and we're really looking forward to the rest of the build-up over the next six weeks."

There are a number of reasons for this understandable improvement, not least a continuation of the good work done over five weeks in South Africa, and also the improved structures within the Irish provincial game which has meant so many more home-based players are training full-time than was the case a year ago. But Gatland expects the real benefits of the provinces' full-time approach since the summer will not be felt for another 12 months.

The Irish management saw a fair amount of rugby over the weekend, which enabled Gatland and Donal Lenihan to draw a direct comparison for the first time between the standards of the provinces and those of London Irish and Wasps at Sunbury on Saturday.

"One of the comments myself and Donal made was that none of the provinces would struggle against London Irish and Wasps from what we saw on Saturday," Gatland, said. He added that "the provinces have probably closed the gap as well".

Lenihan agreed. "I think what's maybe happening in England is that you have the likes of Newcastle, Bath, Saracens and Leicester pulling away from the rest, and that the standard below that is dropping slightly."

The Irish manager also observed that Leinster won away from home while playing badly, and he claimed this was probably a match they would have lost a year ago. Indeed, they did lose to Llanelli in Stradey Park two years ago.

Only one of the 47 players invited to attend unable to do so (Tom Tierney, who may have sustained torn ankle ligaments in Munster's win over Padova last Saturday), which the management interpreted as an excellent sign and a continuation of the spirit engendered by the tour to South Africa.

Inevitably, quite a number of the players were obliged to sit out yesterday afternoon's full-scale training session, namely: Mark McCall (neck), Dion O'Cuinneagain (back), Andy Ward (groin), David Erskine (groin), James Topping (shoulder), Killian Keane (groin), Kieron Dawson (medial ligament), Brian O'Meara (knee), Richie Wallace (playing for Saracens' second last night), Angus McKeen (calf), Allen Clarke (shoulder), Jeremy Davidson (calf), David Humphreys (neck), Girvan Dempsey (hamstring) and Kevin Maggs (groin).