THE start of the All Ireland League last Saturday certainly whetted the appetite for things to come. And it is opportune to send a memo to a few people for whom, it seems, facts are unpalatable.

If there is recurring failure at any level of the game, if some clubs and countries dominate competitions with the others perennial also rans, it behoves those whose failures are recurrent to do something about it, rather than seek refuge in spurious excuse and facetious comment. For important achievement always deserves to get due credit.

When something is fact it also ceases to be a matter of opinion. What is of special relevance in the Irish context is the dominance exerted by the Limerick clubs in the League five wins in five years, with the inaugural title won by Cork Constitution.

Ignoring those facts is akin to putting your head in the sand. But it seems, at least to some, that when one points out that pertinent matter, one is doing a propaganda job for Munster clubs. I would like to think that any club which has scored a worthy win in this or any other competition has received due credit across the board for their achievements.

The vagaries of form and fortune are central elements in any competitive situation. The reality in relation to the AIL is that the Munster clubs have been better organised, more competitive and have had a much wider level of support.

Nor, generally, has their success been down to the influence of foreign coaches or foreign players. When Cork Constitution won the league in its inaugural year, they did so with a team of Irish players and an Irish coach. When Garryowen won it the second year, they were coached by Murray Kidd and had one overseas player.

When Young Munster won it the third year, they were coached by Tony Grant and did not have any overseas players. Nor did Garryowen have any overseas player when they won it the fourth year.

Shannon's back to back wins have been achieved with no outside influence, playing or coaching, with Niall O'Donovan - surely among the best coaches in this country would the authorities at a higher level take due note - assisted by Bobby Roche.

IN pointing out those relevant facts, I am not suggesting that the influence of a foreign player or coach cannot be beneficial the right player or coach can do an immense amount of good. The basic element, however, is that the successes have not been due to the importation of players and/or coaches. When the IRFU tightened the regulations with regard to the eligibility of foreign players a few years ago, they were castigated wrongly in this instance.

Kidd did a good job at Garryowen and Sunday's Well, as did Andy Leslie at Garryowen. Former All Black captain Mike Brewer - a superb player in his international days - could in conjunction with Tony Smith do a very good job for Blackrock College, and there is a double benefit for the club in Brewer's presence as he is also playing.

Blackrock have a young back line, as have St Mary's College and to a great extent Cork Constitution. The presence of experience to harness those talents will be important.

The downside to the outside influences is that, in the past, clubs brought in players and coaches who, rather than improve the club, put them into acute financial difficulties. One club even discovered when their coach arrived that he was, primarily, a cricket coach.

The telling point for all with title aspirations is that the supremacy of the Munster clubs in the league has not been due to foreign influence and those with ambitions to win the title would do well to take due note of that. The former Ireland coach, Gerry Murphy, now coach to Terenure College, who has been in a position to exert his influence to a extent greater than most, is on record as stating: "Munster in general have provided their journalistic fan club scope to rise to new heights of hyperbole.

Oh dear, oh dear. Never mind about giving, credit where credit is due. Maybe he will provide the opportunity to send us into raptures, and if he and others ask themselves the right questions they may even come up with the right answers.

IT does not matter which club wins the AIL or which province they come from. Introverted thinking will not benefit anyone, least of all Irish rugby.

What is of relevance is that the league is of benefit to Irish rugby. Of course, the departure of players to England is unfortunate, and the hope must be that they will return sooner rather than later.

Some of those across the water who lauded professionalism and all its alleged advantages are now asking very serious questions about the damage being done to England by the big influx of foreign players. Eleven of the 12 first division clubs in England have foreign players the exception is Orrell.

Some of those clubs regularly field teams where, half of the side are foreign players, supplemented on occasions by some short term rugby league players. There is now great anxiety about that in England. They point to what has happened to, English cricket since the counties started bringing in overseas players.

The laws of the AIL are such that we cannot have similar happenings here. But some of those, laws still need revision. Events last week were a clear illustration of that, especially what happened in relation to Shane Leahy's transfer from Lansdowne to Garryowen. He is moving to Limerick for genuine business reasons, but is currently working out his notice with his Dublin employers. That issue brought two clubs into conflict who have been very much to fore as allies in relation to the structure and other factors central to the AIL in recent times. One is reminded of the words of that old song, "We seem like passing strangers now".

There is a very easy way to avoid a similar situation happening again. In future, if, during the season, a player moves clubs for genuine business reasons, then there should be a four week qualification period from the time he registers with his new club until he is eligible to play for that club. That will avoid any arguments or disputes about who he should play for in the four weeks.

In conclusion, surely it is not beyond the bounds of ingenuity that some AIL matches could be played on Sunday when teams from the same city are involved. Last Saturday in Limerick two very attractive matches were in direct competition at venues just a short distance apart. Would it not have been in the clubs interest to have played matches the Young Munster v Shannon match on Sunday.