No respite for provincial squads

The Heineken European Cup has proved an unqualified success both in an Irish context and from the perspective of the tournament organisers. The winter sabbatical of two months would certainly not be championed by most of the competing teams, particularly those who have performed admirably over the opening four matches.

The resumption in January promises an exciting climax to the pool stages of the competition, a two-game sprint that offers a myriad of possibilities. There is an understandable concern amongst the provincial coaches, particularly Munster's Declan Kidney and Matt Williams (Leinster) that the AIB League is far from an ideal buildup to European fare that is several notches above that standard.

As things stand the players would play a round of the AIB League on the weekend prior to the resumption of the European Cup. The IRFU has acknowledged the problem and is seeking a solution that is equitable to both provincial and club interests.

The Irish conundrum aside, European Rugby Cup Ltd (ERC) must be delighted by the 20002001 competition. They are presiding over a tournament that is breaking records almost every weekend. Attendance figures are up by 25 per cent and over 24 million people have watched on TV.

The only drawback has been the subjective dissent of the English participants in particular. In recent weeks several high profile players have voiced their concern about the number of games they have been forced to play while some claim to be in need of a rest.

The Irish provinces have been in action for 10 successive weekends (this includes tomorrow final round of Guinness interprovincials) and that is a heavy schedule.

Connacht's European Shield campaign has seen them use 25 players, four more than Munster whose tally of 21 players used during the first four matches of the European campaign is one less than both Leinster and Ulster.

Munster boast a remarkable statistic in that the same 15 players started all four matches in European competition three more than Leinster (12), Ulster (11) and a staggering 10 more than Connacht (5) managed in the Shield.

There is hardly any respite for the provincial squads with the forthcoming internationals against Japan and South Africa, that includes two Test matches, an Under-25 game and an A international.