RUGBY/European Cup Interview with Gavin Duffy: It's been a good week so far for Gavin Duffy as he was named in Ireland's 35-man Six Nations Championship squad, the perfect antidote to last weekend's Heineken European Cup humiliation in Castres. His superb long-range try suggested Harlequins were going to acquit themselves well, but that notion was quickly scotched in the second half when the English club conceded seven tries.
On Saturday at Twickenham, Duffy and Harlequins will face Munster and one suspects will offer a performance with a little more backbone than they did in France last weekend. The Irishman rails against any suggestion Harlequins weren't interested.
"The attitude was good going out to Castres. We were conscious of trying to put it up to them and disappointed we didn't manage it. We were aware they would be chasing the bonus point and the four tries and we thought we might be able to catch them on the hop and change their mindset. We thought if we could frustrate them then they might become a little disheartened.
"We did that successfully in the first half, but when they scored a couple of quick tries things just fell apart after that. That was the disappointing aspect of the game."
It's been pretty symptomatic of the English club's season, vacillating between several decent performances and the downright rank.
"The first six or seven games didn't go well in the Zurich Premiership; in fact I don't think we won a match in the first 10 games. During that period there were obviously going to be changes to the team, when things aren't going well and I was one of those who lost out. The backs weren't getting a whole lot of opportunities, but when you're struggling you can understand coaches turning to someone who might be playing well on the second team."
That is exactly the fate that befell Duffy as he lost his place at full back to Tom Williams. "He took his chance very well having been very good for the seconds prior to that. I came on as a substitute in several games and have recently managed to get back into the team as a few players have gone down with injuries."
Duffy has started 11 games for the club this season, coming on in another five and scoring four tries. He kept Williams on the bench last week and will hope when the team is announced later today he'll start once again.
This is an important year for Duffy who won his first Irish cap in the second Test against the Springboks last summer. His contract at Harlequins is up at the end of season, though he hasn't given it too much thought because his focus has been on trying to earn more pitch-time. The priority is to help the club away from the foot of the Premiership. A respite from that task is Saturday's game.
The suspicion is Harlequins will field a stronger team than they put out against Castres. Duffy is looking forward to the game, albeit aware of the prospect of a potentially difficult afternoon.
"There has been this talk about Munster not playing as well as they can, but they're coming here having won four out of five matches. If you can win consistently without hitting top form, then that is the sign of a good side. Munster know what they have to do and they'll be dangerous. There should be a great atmosphere as the club is expecting to put a cap on a crowd of about 30,000.
"Munster will bring plenty of fans, but we'll have a lot of supporters there too."
On a personal level, Duffy wants regular game-time at club level and, after that, will leave any further honours in the hands of others.
He could make a serious down-payment on a bright future with a high-profile performance on Saturday.
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