Ireland's Lions hopefuls, and especially the Munster contingent, will be given what few opportunities they have available to stake their claims by Lions manager Donal Lenihan and coach Graham Henry. Lenihan has confirmed that the selection of the 37-man squad for the three-Test, 10match tour of Australia has been put back a fortnight from the expected announcement date of April 12th.
This will give Lenihan and Henry the opportunity to run the rule over the European Cup warm-up game between Munster and a Rest of Ireland selection on Good Friday, April 13th, as well as the Cup semifinal between Munster and Stade Francais in Lille eight days later.
Ireland's candidates for the Lions tour have not had a game in a pan-European shop window, so to speak, since the 2215 win over France on February 17th - six weeks ago.
The foot-and-mouth crisis has caused the cancellation of Ireland's three outstanding Six Nations games against Wales, England and Scotland, and with the Six Nations committee set to hold crisis talks again in Copenhagen tomorrow, there now seems little likelihood of those games going ahead this side of the Lions tour.
Undoubtedly this must have affected the chances of some of Ireland's hopefuls. Whereas the likes of Keith Wood, Brian O'Driscoll, Malcolm O'Kelly, Denis Hickie and, now, perhaps, Rob Henderson, are oddson to make the cut, the likes of Ronan O'Gara, Peter Clohessy and John Hayes could have done with another chance or two, as, most certainly, could Peter Stringer and Anthony Foley.
"The Irish players are back playing some club matches, but you cannot judge them on those games," Lenihan said. "The Heineken Cup tournament is a higher level than any of the domestic competitions in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales - it is a far more competitive environment.
"Both semi-finals - Munster versus Stade Francais and Leicester against Gloucester - are huge games, and we have delayed announcing our tour squad until after those matches," he added.
"But, to be fair to everyone involved, we cannot go much beyond the end of April."
That Henry, as well as Lenihan, will attend both Munster games gives the hopeful players an additional incentive, and presuming the likes of Kieron Dawson, Jeremy Davidson, Eric Miller and Tyrone Howe are chosen in the Rest of Ireland selection, this will provide added spice to that hastily arranged fixture.
Lenihan also gave a clear hint that in view of three Irish games being postponed, the autumn form against South Africa as well as European Cup form will come into consideration.
"With the disruption we've had to the Six Nations, we would have been in serious trouble if that had been our only criteria for selection," Lenihan said.
"However, the Heineken Cup, along with the autumn internationals, have been major boosts from a Lions selection point of view."
The Lions are scheduled to leave London on June 1st, kicking off the tour against Western Australia in Perth a week later.
Following an AIB League committee meeting on Thursday night to investigate the refusal of Midleton and Highfield to fulfil fixtures away to City of Derry and Ards last Saturday, the IRFU has decided that both matches will be replayed, on April 17th and 21st respectively.
Furthermore, the union has advised both Midleton and Highfield that "further breaches will not be tolerated and will result in penalties as permitted under AIB Regulation 8.2. as the League committee will take any action necessary to ensure that no other clubs are adversely affected by the failure of a club to complete its programme of fixtures".
Meanwhile, two back games in Division One have been rearranged for next Wednesday: Blackrock v Shannon at Stradbrook and Clontarf v Garryowen at Castle Avenue. Both games will kick off at 6.00.
