No one listening to Conor O'Shea yesterday left Guildford in any doubt which side of the Irish Sea his loyalties currently lie. Not only did O'Shea reiterate he has nil intention of deserting Harlequins to become Ireland's national coach but his desire to send Munster packing in this weekend's Heineken Cup quarter-final practically oozed from his fingertips.
There were occasions when, comparatively speaking, he made the England captain sitting next to him sound like Chris O'Robshaw.
Deep down, of course, O'Shea is as proud an Irishman as they come but he again made it abundantly clear he has no wish to be shoehorned into Declan Kidney's old job any time soon. Abandoning Quins now is simply not a scenario he wishes to entertain, regardless of what inducements the Irish Rugby Football Union dangle in front of him.
"I'm going nowhere," he said, politely but firmly, at Quins' training round. "My contract is here (until 2014), I love it here and we're just focused on achieving what we think this club can do over the next number of years. It's flattering but my job is here full stop. We're very excited about the group of players we have and how much we still have to improve as a team."
With the LV Cup and the A league titles already in the locker, there is the additional lure of retaining the Premiership title Quins won last year and hoisting the club to a first Heineken Cup semi-final and beyond. Given they have not featured at this stage since 2009, when they lost 6-5 to eventual champions Leinster in the now infamous "Bloodgate" match at the Stoop, O'Shea's restorative powers are there for all to see. What is equally clear is that he cannot imagine walking away until that healing mission is fully accomplished.
Where this leaves the IRFU kingmakers, as a result, is interesting. There is no question that O'Shea would fit perfectly into the IRFU's proposed new role of national performance director but it is not going to happen for another year at the absolute minimum.
All sorts of other names have been mooted for the vacant head coach role, such as the Australian Ewen McKenzie who yesterday put himself forward for the post.
"I have said I am looking for challenges at the next level and I am looking for whatever the possibilities are," McKenzie said. "It's the type of job I'm interested in looking at but there have been no discussions. I have made it clear the challenge of coaching at that level is what interests me but there aren't many opportunities at Test level and you can't control the timing."
The former Wales coach Mike Ruddock has been linked with the job, but the best available solution would surely be to hire the outstanding Joe Schmidt, already on the doorstep as coach of Leinster, perhaps alongside his old fellow Kiwi mate from Clermont days, Vern Cotter.
Maybe, too, O'Shea will feel differently by 2015 if Quins sweep all before them in the interim. Then again, as he is swift to point out, planning too far into the future is a recipe for sporting disaster.
"It's lovely to have a three-to-five-year plan in your mind but you don't get that in sport," he said. "I've never planned anything in my life. In this environment you're only ever six games away from the edge of a cliff or being a hero but hopefully I'll be here for a long time to come."
If the recent speculation has been bothering him it does not remotely show. "I'm disappointed there still appear to be jobs in other parts of the world I haven't been linked to," he said drily. Far more pertinent is the business of knocking over a Munster side who once cornered the market in classic Heineken Cup knockout fairytales.
"In my opinion they're the team that have made the Heineken Cup what it is. There is no tomorrow in games like this. They will come absolutely full on and we'll be there to meet and greet them in the right way. I think this Sunday will be the best day the Stoop has witnessed in terms of atmosphere." Guardian Service
