Weekend puts Celtic League in poor light

On Rugby: Last Friday night Munster, with nine players decreed unavailable by Irish coach Eddie O'Sullivan, lost to Ulster, who had only Andrew Trimble ruled out. The pitch was about as level as the Himalayas. To no-one's surprise, Ulster's five-point haul propelled them to the top of the Celtic League ahead of Munster. It could go a long way toward deciding the title.

The ramifications go further too, for whoever finishes top of the provinces will enjoy the status of top Irish seeds in the draw for next season's Heineken European Cup and thereby avoid top seeds from other countries in the pool stages.

No fault lies with Ulster, and it should be remembered that Mark McCall's team went to Musgrave Park on December 3rd when both sides were at full strength and came away with a deserved victory after irreverently taking the game to Munster in the first half and then defending doggedly in the second.

However, factor in the lopsided look to the table because of a host of back matches caused by Welsh participation in the Powergen Cup, Llanelli's continuing progress to the final, the puzzling award of four points to "idle" teams, and after mismatches like Friday's it's hardly a puzzle of Rubik proportions that the Celtic League lacks both lustre and a sponsor.

In future, the provinces are agreed they should avoid meeting each other during the Six Nations, while Munster had, 10 days beforehand, privately sought a postponement of Friday's game. The IRFU's Games Representative Committee, chaired by Neilly Jackson, referred the matter to the Union's Management Committee, chaired by John Hussey (who is also chairman of the Celtic League Association). They referred Munster to the Celtic League.

Tournament director David Jordan declined Munster's request and maintained yesterday that even if their plea had been backed by the IRFU, a week's notice would have been insufficient time given Ulster had sold out Ravenhill while the game was scheduled to be shown live by Setanta.

In comparison to the way the frontline Irish players have little or no contact with their provinces for two months, it does seem curious that Wales can release all bar Dwayne Peel of their Llanelli contingent, and allowing for the ongoing club/country conflict in England, likewise that Wasps, Leicester and Bath frontliners can continue playing for their clubs during the Six Nations - sometimes on the same weekend as England games.

Having been regular bench-warmers for Ireland in the Six Nations to date - something not far removed from what the rest of us experience, whether sitting in the stands or at home - the likes of Rory and Simon Best and David Humphreys, there's no doubt, clearly needed the match last Friday.

To add to Munster's misfortune, on top of their nine Ireland absentees, Mick O'Driscoll became ill on the day of the match and thus joined an extensive list of injured players, namely Frankie Sheahan, Trevor Hogan, Alan Quinlan, Christian Cullen, Mike Mullins, John Kelly and Jeremy Manning, not to mention the loss of Barry Murphy for several months. The ripple effects spread to the AIL, and especially to Shannon for their crunch clash with Garryowen.

If the IRFU and the Celtic League are serious about this competition, might there not be greater flexibility about the availability of Ireland players? For starters might there not be a case for letting Marcus Horan and Donncha O'Callaghan play last Friday? After all, only last season O'Sullivan released John Hayes and Frankie Sheahan before the end of the 10-week pre-season, though retaining Reggie Corrigan and Shane Byrne, when Munster met Leinster.

Neither Horan nor O'Callaghan has played much rugby in recent months, and O'Callaghan might not even make the starting team against Scotland. Indeed, the Irish system appears to have wrapped O'Callaghan in too much cotton wool in recent years, and he played more rugby on the Lions tour than he often does in several months of a domestic campaign.

The Powergen Cup (soon to lose its sponsors) clearly suffers second-rate status, and the pool stages were treated with varying interest by participants. But by comparison to the BBC-screened Millennium Stadium double header, the Ravenhill mismatch and the beach that passed for a pitch at Donnybrook on Sunday made the Celtic League look third-rate.

All this has ramifications for Leinster and Munster when they return to Euro fare for the European Cup quarter-finals two weeks after the conclusion of the Six Nations.

In stark contrast, Perpignan have been playing regularly and without undue Test withdrawals throughout the Six Nations, while Toulouse have at least been able to call on their frontline players in the two weeks when there have been no Six Nations matches.

While the post-match couple of days the Irish players remain in camp, not to mention the rest they are afforded, must have its value, how helpful might it be for Ireland's European Cup quarter-finalists to have the same time as their French counterparts to at least renew acquaintances and keep things ticking over?

Recall the back-to-back rounds of Celtic League interpros in December at full strength, which enabled Munster and Leinster to achieve momentum going into the January pool stages of the European Cup. They finished those pool stages on fire, but now, as if by tap, they are expected to turn up the heat having been effectively in cold storage for two months.

Not so long ago, the IRFU set ambitious aspirations for the provinces about winning Celtic Leagues and European Cups - but not for the first time you get the distinct impression they could be doing more for them.