WHEN, after six matches in a row had been won in Cagliari's autumn sunshine, it was suggested to the members of the Ireland squad that the Interprovincial Championship in December would be pretty mundane, the response was that it would not be. The players, in fact, were looking forward to the annual renewal of inter regional rivalries and the competition should be as sharp as ever in the quest for the Regiments Cup, held by Ulster.
There will also be the factor at Blaris this weekend that claims can still be made for places in the Irish party going to the second qualifying stage of the World Cup" in Kuala Lumpur in March.
Various circumstances have resulted in the absence of Peter Darley, Colin Hade, Robbie Ryan and David McAnulty. They will remain to the forefront of Cees Koppelaar's training squad which reassembles after Christmas, but there are others on the fringe who are expected to broaden the panel to 24 before the final 16 are named for Malaysia.
Raymond Geddis returns to the reckoning, while Nigel Henderson also puts in a challenge for the number two goalkeeping berth. Ivan Steen and David Smyth are foremost among a crop of emerging defenders, with Peter Young being a more mature contender. Devin Donnelly is the main midfield aspirant while Jamie McBride's move to Teddington may have enhanced his claim for a front running berth.
Of the younger attackers, Mark Irwin leads the way, with Darren Hanna possibly ready to dart into contention, too.
As regards the interprovincial laurels, Munster's challenge is expected to be particularly dynamic, starting tonight against Ulster. The loss of Ryan seems a setback, yet Alastair Dunne can combine, his driving force with the rhythm" of his C of I clubmates to telling effect. Leinster, disappointing last, year but now reinvigorated, cannot be discounted either.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)