O'Driscoll's captaincy credentials still strong

RUGBY NEWS:THE IDENTITY of the Irish captain for the forthcoming RBS Six Nations Championship, as well as the Heineken Cup semi-finals pairings, should be confirmed by lunchtime today.

Although the clamour for Paul O’Connell to be promoted will have intensified after his barnstorming leadership of Munster in their bonus point wins over Sale and Montauban, the case for keeping Brian O’Driscoll has also hardened over the last couple of weekends.

O’Driscoll captained Ireland for the 51st time in the 17-3 win over Argentina last November, though he had seemingly been troubled by a hamstring strain that month after clear signs of a resurgence in form for Leinster last October. His form for Leinster in December must also have been a concern for the Irish management, but – probably benefiting from a two-game break over Christmas – there are clear signs he is sharp and fit again.

Replacing O’Driscoll as captain with O’Connell, or Ronan O’Gara, could prove potentially divisive or disruptive within the camp as well, not to mention casting aside his vast captaincy experience. That said, O’Connell has looked a natural born leader this season and his time will surely come, whether today or subsequently, although it’s not as if either will be lost to the collective leadership amongst the senior pros.

There was no word yesterday on the injury Keith Earls picked up in Munster’s win over Montauban nor the tests Paddy Wallace underwent with a neurologist last week.

In another sign of the financial times we live in, the Irish squad had been due to stay in their customary Limerick base of the Castletroy Hotel when they went into camp yesterday, but discovered last Friday that the hotel was closing its doors this weekend. Hence, they have relocated to another Limerick hotel.

Both the kick-off times, dates and venues for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals, and the semi-final draw, will also be known by lunchtime today, and there will be mixed feelings within the corridors of sporting power in Ireland if Munster and Leinster are drawn away in the semi-final.

If nothing else, it would remove a potential headache or two, whereas were the two Irish teams drawn in the same half, as things stand there simply isn’t a sporting venue in Ireland capable of satisfying the demand for tickets other than Croke Park – which, of course, if off limits for such a game.

Strictly speaking, potential home semi-finalists have to nominate a “neutral” venue in their country with a minimum capacity of 20,000. Hence, the only viable home venue which Munster can nominate for a putative semi-final would be the RDS (where the 18,500 capacity could be brought up to 20,000), while the only ground Leinster could nominate would be Thomond Park.

Clearly, if they were drawn together in the same half, it would be faintly ridiculous if Munster were at home to Leinster in the RDS or Leinster hosted Munster in Thomond Park.

As the Leinster-Munster Heineken Cup semi-final of 2005-06 showed, or any other semi-final hosted by them, another head-to-head would undoubtedly fill out Croke Park’s 80,000 capacity.

The original terms of the agreement between the GAA and both the IRFU and FAI, to amend Rule 42 and permit the hiring of Croke Park, stipulated that it could only be for competitive internationals. Although that has since been amended to incorporate friendly internationals, in the unlikely event that the GAA were moved to do so it would require another vote by the GAA’s annual congress.

As the Heineken Cup semi-finals are to be played on the first weekend of May, logistically as well as politically therefore, the possibility of Croke Park becoming available is highly unlikely.

That said, bearing in mind that the Ireland-England game of two seasons ago raised upwards of €50 million for the economy, and the Munster-All-Blacks game yielded an estimated €6 million for the local economy, the financial benefits of hosting an all-Irish semi-final in the bigger venue would be considerable.

Meanwhile, IRFU and Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company sources have denied that an announcement confirming the naming rights of the redeveloped stadium is imminent.

It would appear that a deal with either of the insurance investment companies, Aviva or Zurich, is close to being completed, with Aviva looking like strong potential candidates given they are going through a significant rebranding process.

“Yes we are in discussions about the naming rights and we are talking to several parties,” confirmed one spokesperson. To partially offset the IRFU and FAI share of the €400 million-plus costs of redeveloping Lansdowne Road (the Government have pledged €191 million) the naming rights are expected to accrue sponsorship in the region of €40-60 million – albeit over a 10-year period.

Magners League

FOLLOWING THE strong showing by Magners League teams in this season’s Heineken Cup, as reflected in an unprecedented tally of four representatives in the last eight, it is expected that an announcement confirming Magners’ continuing sponsorship of the league will be made this week. Currently in the third year of a three-year deal, it is understood that Magners have agreed to sponsor the League for a further three or four years to the tune of an estimated ¤750,000-¤1 million per year.