IRFU defer crucial Connacht meeting

Tactical manoeuvring and prevarication was the order of the day in the IRFU hierarchy yesterday, as first they cancelled Thursday's fateful meeting of the union's committee which was intended to decide the future of Connacht, then called it on again, only to postpone it once more well after 8 pm.

Initially they had informed committee members that the meeting was being postponed to facilitate a request by the Irish Rugby Union Players Association (IRUPA) to prepare a formal submission by them.

However, Billy Glynn, a Connacht Branch delegate on the committee, lobbied the IRUPA chairman Liam Toland not to have the meeting postponed, and on foot of Toland's contact with the union, the meeting was declared on again.

Then an IRFU statement was issued stating that Thursday's meeting had been postponed, most probably to February 7th, pending submissions from IRUPA and Connacht "so as to provide proper time to evaluate that and all other options."

The union will circulate these submissions to the 22 members of the committee "so that the union committee is given sufficient time to evaluate them properly also".

This is quite a change in approach, given they didn't appear to be that keen on such expansive consultation before their meetings of December 5th and January 9th. Indeed, both IRUPA chairman Toland and its secretary Peter McKenna were unaware that the meeting had been cancelled when contacted last night.

This latest development was interpreted by Billy Glynn, one of Connacht's delegates on the committee, as "a further tactic to delay the whole process in the hope that Connacht's campaign will lose its momentum. We're now in the realm of trying to pull stunts."

Now that the topic of their existence has come to a head, they'd as soon have their fate sealed one way or the other than have the momentum behind them sapped.

An abiding fear for Connacht is that they will be axed surrepticiously at a later date, or that they suffer a drip-feed existence and a slow demise. The Connacht Branch treasurer Eamonn Feely, assistant treasurer Brian O'Beirn and Shane O'Mahony have been putting together a presentation in the short time available to them, along with the two Connacht delegates on the committee, Jeff Smith and Glynn.

"We will make our presentation by way of defence against any proposal to discontinue professional provincial rugby in Connacht," said Glynn yesterday, though he doesn't intend to stop there.

"I want to seek an assurance that we're not going to be faced with touting of our players by other provinces, something that has already happened, and secondly that the union won't go down the avenue of cutting our money to the extent that we're not able to compete, and that we die a slow and painful death.

"What I wanted to happen at Thursday's meeting is that the committee establish the principle that there must be four provinces," added Glynn. "I want that principle established. It's what the people want. It's an issue way and beyond money.

"For me it's an issue not only of importance to Connacht, but for the whole of the island. It is my wish that the IRFU would show the same spirit and determination in acceding to Connacht's request as Munster did on Saturday."

Intensive lobbying took place at various AIL games during the weekend, an example of which was the applause and ovation accorded to Hughie Coyle, a former Connacht and Munster player. There is growing opposition to the union proposal to disband Connacht, most notably from IRUPA, as expressed by Toland last weekend.

Two extra carriages have been added on to a scheduled CIE train from Galway to Dublin on Thursday, departing at 11.0, accommodating an additional 200 supporters. It will be Glynn's recommendation that the demonstration go ahead, to which a union spokesperson denied that they were running for cover. "We welcome demonstrations, and democracy, and open debate".

"The train will hopefully have about 3-400 supporters in total and many more will be making their way by car from Ballina, Westport, Clifden or wherever," said one of the Friends of Connacht spokespersons, Mick 'Dano' Heaslip, who estimates that there should be more than 1,000 people at Thursday's protest march.

Assembling from 3.30 on outside Searsons and the Waterloo pub on Upper Baggot Street, they will march from there to 62 Lansdowne Road from about 4.15 onwards.

"Out of courtesy I notified the IRFU last week that we would be handing in a letter on Thursday at some time before 5.0 and I have requested that Philip Browne accommodate us by briefly accepting the letter," said Heaslip. Browne was not available for comment.