Connacht postponement sets alarm bells ringing

The prospect of Connacht being disbanded by the IRFU sooner rather than later appeared on the cards this evening when it was announced the province's upcoming interpro fixture against Ulster has been postponed indefinitely.

The reason given by the IRFU - in a statement released through the Ulster Branch - is that the tie, due to take place on Friday, January 24th, has been scrapped in order to accommodate a request from Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan for a week's rest for the players.

With a specially convened IRFU committee due to meet by January 23rd - where they are expected to confirm Connacht will be disbanded as a professional entity - today's move points to the beginning of the end for the full-time game in the west.

O'Sullivan's request, presumably to rest key players in the run up to the Six Nations, comes despite the fact a limited number of internationals would have featured in the match (only Ulster's David Humphreys and Gary Longwell made the last full Ireland squad).

And curiously, no such request has been made by the national team management for the interpro game between Ulster and Leinster seven days later.

When Connacht manager John Fallon was contacted by ireland.comthis evening, he was unaware that the match had been called off.

The IRFU had made no contact with the Connacht Branch to inform them of the decision, and as recently as this afternoon, both Fallon and Connacht chief executive Gerry Kelly had been in the process of making travel arrangements and booking hotels for the fixture.

Fallon was understandably annoyed at the lack of communication from the IRFU, a situation he says has persisted since rumours of the province's demise first began to circulate two months ago.

"The simple fact is that we were told this game is on Friday 24th in Ravenhill and if it's called off, you'd think they [the IRFU] would have the courtesy to tell us," Fallon said this evening.

"On one hand we're hearing all this talk about the need for hard decisions within the era of professionalism but the lines of communication over the past 6-8 weeks have been anything but professional.

"I think we've enough on our minds to be getting on with without worrying about games that aren't going to take place."

The IRFU could not be reached for comment tonight.