TIGHT head prop Paul Wallace and second row Paddy Johns are both out of the Irish XV to meet Munster at Thomond Park on Sunday week. Both players are contracted to English first division club Saracens, whose league match against Wasps has been arranged for Sunday week at the Queen's Park Rangers soccer ground at Loftus Road.
Wallace's place will be taken by Angus McKeen (Lansdowne) and Johns will be replaced by Malcolm O'Kelly (London Irish). O'Kelly had been named as a replacement and the vacancy on the bench will be taken by Neil Francis (Old Belvedere). Francis is not a contracted Ireland player having been left out of the Ireland squad when it was announced last June. But with the Munster players in the squad playing for the province, some members of the Ireland replacements for the match are not squad players.
Saracens' match will also mean that Munster are unlikely to be able to call on Paul Wallace's brother Richard, who recently intimated that he is joining Saracens.
Wasps are now effectively owned by the same man who recently bought Queen's Park Rangers, Chris Wright. With QPR requiring the Loftus Road ground on Saturday week, Wasps, who are going to play several of their league matches at the venue, must settle for the Sunday fixture.
It is the kind of problem that Pat Whelan and the Ireland management may well have to face again during the season. And while the London Irish club has agreed to release all their players to assist Irish provinces in the European Cup, it is by no means certain that Bristol, who play in the European Conference, will release outside half Paul Burke and flanker David Corkery to play for Munster in Europe.
Munster manager Colm Tucker said yesterday: "As yet we have not got any guarantee from the Bristol dub in relation to the availability of the two players. The matter is under negotiation. Unless we are sure they will be available--to us for the European Cup, it would be pointless selecting them to play for Munster against Ireland on Sun- day week. We will be selecting that aside after our training day and trial tomorrow at Thomond Park."
Tucker added that he had been - assured about the availability for - European competition of Richard Wallace, Gabriel Fulcher, Gary Halpin - now declared for Munster having previously represented Leinster and The Exiles - and Rob Henderson. The Munster manager also stated that, with regard to the ongoing conjecture about whether or not Henderson would be available to Munster or Ulster, that Henderson is a Munster player. "Rob Henderson gave our coach Gerry Holland a verbal guarantee and after that I met him and he has signed the declaration form for Munster. That is that as far as we are concerned,"
Ireland selectors Donal Lenihan and Frank Sowman will be at Sunbury tomorrow when they will be assessing the form of so many of the Ireland squad in the league tie between London Irish and Bristol. The only absentee is likely to be London Irish second row Gabriel Fulcher, who is injured and is also rated doubtful for the Munster team on Sunday week.
Lenihan was yesterday confirmed as Ireland's representative on the Lions selection committee for the tour to South Africa next summer. Jim Telfer (Scotland) was also confirmed as assistant coach to Ian McGeechan, with whom Telfer had so close a liaison when McGeechan was Scotland's coach.
Lenihan said yesterday: "I spoke to the Lions manager Fran Cotton a few weeks ago and told him, I will be happy to help in the Lions selection but that my first duty is to Ireland as an Ireland selector. Fran was quite happy with that. In any case with so many Irish players now with English clubs, I will be seeing a lot of English league matches and Lions contenders from Ireland and elsewhere."
The Ireland schools team that recorded that superb 1OO per cent record on the tour to Australia, will be given an official reception when they return home this morning. The party is due to arrive at Dublin airport at 9.0 a.m. and their achievement certainly warrants a full-hearted-welcome.
Meanwhile, trouble continues to mount for the English Rugby Union. Their dispute with the other home unions in relation to television rights is still unresolved, they are now faced yet again with a breakaway by their first and second division clubs. Such a threat was averted some months ago but has emerged yet again. The clubs want to control their own affairs and such matters as negotiating their own television rights. A decision will be made within the next three weeks when clubs have met to consider their future course.
