Wake-up call as Irish pair miss two-day camp

RUGBY: Malcolm O'Kelly and Anthony Horgan have been omitted from an Ireland two-day training camp at Citywest on December 29th and 30th after it transpired that they slept in and were late for an appointed weigh-in on Sunday morning in Lanzarote.

Little information was given from official channels yesterday for this disciplinary procedure as Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan was on the first day of a brief holiday, while team manager Brian O'Brien was unavailable for contact.

The IRFU press officer John Redmond wouldn't expand on the brief explanation which accompanied the announcement of the 32-man panel for the mini-camp other than to confirm the disciplinary measure would not expand beyond the Citywest mini-camp.

The statement merely said: "Two players (Anthony Horgan and Malcolm O'Kelly) have been omitted for disciplinary reasons, having missed a training session during last week's fitness camp in Lanzarote."

In truth their "crime" was not as bad as the statement might at first glance indicate. A 30-man squad had been in Lanzarote for a week-long fitness camp at the La Santa Training Centre in preparation for the Six Nations Championship, and on the last night, Saturday night, the management opened up a bar-tab at the remote complex.

Horgan and O'Kelly, who were rooming together, missed their appointed Sunday morning weigh-in, believed to be at 9 a.m.; turning up about 25 minutes late.

Worse things have undoubtedly happened on Irish camps on match weeks abroad.

Nor should this disciplinary measure be necessarily interpreted as a sign that these camps are dictatorial affairs or anywhere remotely resembling Springbok boot camps. (For one thing, the Irish players are generally allowed to keep their clothes on).

After the most arduous test year ever - last week's training camp was in the region of Ireland's 23rd week of 2003 in camp together - some sympathy can be reserved for two players who were late for the last Sunday morning weigh-in of the year.

Nonetheless, their tardiness clearly angered Dr Liam Hennessy, the IRFU's fitness director who oversaw the training camp, and O'Sullivan.

Perhaps as a warning to other players, an example has been set in advance of 2004.

In the modern professional era, time-keeping is seen as increasingly sacrosanct.

Elton Flatley, the Australian centre, was ruled out of the Wallabies' summer Test at home to England after sleeping in and missing a training session at the beginning of that week, though subsequently he returned to the team and became its vice-captain in the World Cup.

Under Clive Woodward England, for example, operate under "Vince Lombardi Time", that is, everyone turns up 10 minutes before the specified time.

Certainly, as an example, all their press conferences began like clockwork at the appointed time.

The Lanzarote training week is generally an unobtrusive, quiet affair, in which the training programmes are designed individually for the players, with a concentration on technique, speed work and weight work and some team patterns, although there is no contact work.

The La Santa Training Centre is a modern, all-purposeful sports complex mostly inhabited by professional athletes from around Europe and their coaches.

It is quite remote, however, with little else to do, and most nights the players' entertainment revolved around a Monopoly board or such like, before retiring by 11 p.m. or midnight. Saturday was obviously an exception.

Compared to the Lanzarote camp, in addition to the omitted O'Kelly and Horgan, the Leinster scrumhalves Brian O'Meara and Brian O'Riordan also make way, as does David Quinlan, to accommodate the return of the Ulster contingent, who were involved in their Celtic Cup triumph, and the English-based pair of Guy Easterby and Kevin Maggs.

Compared to the original 30-man World Cup squad, Clontarf and Connacht hooker Bernard Jackman is included ahead of Paul Shields in the absence of the retired Keith Wood, while Emmet Byrne, David Wallace, Rob Henderson, Tyrone Howe, Gordon D'Arcy and Jeremy Staunton are also back in the fold, with Alan Quinlan and Denis Hickie sidelined by injury.

The mini-camp is not too popular with the provinces, especially Munster and Leinster, who have only had their front-line players for three weeks since April and play the first of five games in January which will make or break their season in the Celtic League on Friday, January 2nd. Indeed, messrs Gaffney, Ella and Solomons probably wish a few more missed their wake-up calls last Sunday morning.

PRE-SIX NATIONS MINI CAMP SQUAD

Hookers: Shane Byrne, Bernard Jackman, Frank Sheahan.

Props: Simon Best, Emmet Byrne, Reggie Corrigan, John Hayes, Marcus Horan, Emmet Byrne

Locks: Donncha O'Callaghan, Paul O'Connell, Gary Longwell.

Back Rows: Victor Costello, Simon Easterby, Anthony Foley, Keith Gleeson, Eric Miller, David Wallace.

Scrumhalves: Neil Doak, Guy Easterby, Peter Stringer.

Outhalves: Ronan O'Gara, David Humphreys, Paddy Wallace.

Centres: John Kelly, Rob Henderson, Kevin Maggs, Brian O'Driscoll.

Wings: Gordon D'Arcy, Shane Horgan, Tyrone Howe.

Full backs: Girvan Dempsey, Jeremy Staunton.