Alan Quinlan closes in on Munster record

Flanker Alan Quinlan is in line to become the most capped Munster player of all time on Saturday.
Thirty-six-year-old Quinlan and former number eight Anthony Foley currently share the record of 201 appearances for Munster.
Should Quinlan, as expected, feature for Munster in Saturday’s big Heineken Cup opener against London Irish then he will set a new record for the number of appearances for the province.
Quinlan made his Munster debut when lining out against Western Samoa in November 1996.
Paying tribute to Quinlan this week, Mick Galwey, a former Shannon, Munster and Ireland team-mate, described the achievement as ‘phenomenal’.
Mick Galwey said: “Alan (Quinlan) has been there for a long time. I first started playing with Alan at Shannon. He has stood the test of time. That is the best thing you can say about him.
“He has been there or thereabouts. He has come through a few horrific injuries and yet he is as competitive as ever. We saw that last weekend against Leinster.
“The only other fellow so far to get to 200 caps is Anthony Foley. They both play in the back-row. It is phenomenal that they both managed to earn so many caps for Munster.
“Alan is going to be a very important part of the squad as the year goes on.”
Alan Quinlan was born on July 13, 1974. The Tipperary-born star has won five All-Ireland League titles with Shannon RFC and has been capped 201 times for Munster. Quinlan made his debut for the province in November 1996 v Western Samoa and earned his 100th provincial cap against Cardiff in the Celtic League in March 2005.
Alan Quinlan has also been capped 27 times for Ireland.

Colm Kinsella