RUGBY: A ball hasn't been kicked or a tackle made in anger but already Munster's injury woes are mounting, with a ripple affect for Ireland, as another congested season looms. Gerry Thornley reports
Wingers Anthony Horgan and John O'Neill are the latest casualties for the European Cup finalists, with the former undergoing an MRI scan today on a problematic shoulder problem which may require surgery and if so could be sidelined for up to four months.
Horgan was one of the 50 players who took part in the recent 10-day Irish training camp in the Polish town of Spala but the shoulder injury curtailed his involvement, and prompted further tests. O'Neill twisted an ankle in Spala, thereby sidelining him for about three weeks.
Given David Wallace and Paul O'Connell have already been sidelined for the first five or six months of the season due to shoulder injuries, incoming Munster coach Alan Gaffney has been unlucky, even allowing for the return of Eddie Halvey.
Both Horgan and O'Neill have been ruled out of the upcoming two-week Irish training camp in Limerick. A squad of 37 was named yesterday which will assemble on Sunday - breaking for the following weekend - in preparation for Ireland's World Cup qualifying warm-up game against Romania in Thomond Park on September 7th, and the ensuing qualifiers away to Russia and at home to Georgia on September 21st and 28th.
The squad sees the return of Keith Wood, Paul Burke and Justin Bishop, all of whom missed the Polish trip. Aside from the injured O'Neill, Horgan and Emmet Byrne (whose return after a shoulder operation has not been cleared by specialists until the second round of Celtic League matches in September), a further 14 players who were in Poland have missed the cut for Limerick.
Amongst those are a trio of centres, Mike Mullins, Jason Holland and Mel Deane, and Irish manager Brian O'Brien yesterday admitted Deane was unlucky.
Trevor Brennan is another to have been culled while amongst the clutch of young players who missed the cut after making the Polish trip is Donnacha O'Callaghan, a huge talent who must be frustrated by his lack of opportunities these past couple of seasons.
O'Brien counters that O'Callaghan needs more matches and given O'Connell's injury and Mick Galwey's reduced role, like many other young tyros on the provincial fringes, openings will present themselves in the first leg of the season.
The provinces will be severely weakened for their pre-season friendlies and though they will all be available for the first round of Celtic League games on the last weekend of August, the September programme of three games against East European opposition will effectively remove Ireland's front line Test players from four rounds of the Celtic League group stages.
Although Johnny O'Connor, Gavin Duffy and Peter Bracken have also missed out on the Limerick get-together the vibes from Connacht are decidedly upbeat after announcing a youthful looking squad yesterday for the season ahead.
The squad contains 24 players who have represented Ireland at underage or schools levels, with an average age of 22 including eight of the Connacht side which won the under-21 interpros last season.
In addition to capturing the 33-year-old former Wallaby lock Warwick Waugh, Connacht have signed another player who featured in France last season, 20-year-old prop Fabian Boiroux, who joins from Montferrand.
Undeterred by the loss of Des Dillon to Leinster, Connacht have dipped heavily into the pool of young talent in Leinster to acquire Shane Moore (23), Dermot O'Sullivan (24), Mike Walls (22), Tom Carter (21) and James Norton (21). At the other end of the spectrum Eric Elwood (33) starts his 14th campaign for Connacht.
Connacht will play three warm-up matches, starting on Wednesday, August 14th, at home to Bristol Shoguns followed by a trip to High Wycombe against London Wasps on August 18th and a visit from Munster to the Sportsground on August 22nd.
