Munster must come roaring back

HOOKER Jerry Flannery has admitted that the Munster players will find it hard to pick themselves up for their remaining Magners League fixture, but he is adamant that they must come roaring back in Sunday’s final regular season clash with the Cardiff Blues (6.15pm).


Fourth-placed Munster need to secure a draw at least against Amlin Challenge Cup finalists Cardiff at the Cardiff City Stadium this weekend in order to be sure to making it through to the inaugural play-offs later this month.
Fourth-placed Munster currently enjoy a four-point lead over both fifth-placed Cardiff and sixth-placed Edinburgh with just one round of regular season games to go.
Jerry Flannery admitted it had been devastating for Munster to lose out at the semi-final stage of the Heineken Cup for a second successive year.
Biarritz’s dominant second half performance helped the Top 14 side secure a thoroughly deserved 18-7 success at the Estadio Anoeta in San Sebastian on Sunday.
Flannery says the Munster players cannot afford to ‘loll around and feel sorry’ for themselves over the remainder of the season.
“For the rest of the season, it’s going to be difficult to raise ourselves for the Magners League, but that’s what we have to do. You can’t just loll around and feel sorry for yourself,” Flannery wrote in his rugby column on the Joe.ie.
“It’s not good enough saying you have to learn from this and come back, although that’s what we have to try to do. We’re lucky enough to have been competitive again and to get to the semi-final, but it’s just devastating to fall short.
It was late, one o’clock or so Sunday night-Monday morning, by the time we got back home after the game in San Sebastian. I got a couple of bangs and I have to get my ribs checked out, but the scars are more mental than anything else at this stage.
“It’ll take a few days for this kind of thing to kick in.
“Going home last (Sunday) night and getting up today (Monday), it hasn’t really sunk in yet, but knowing that there’s nothing there for us in Europe for the rest of the season is hard to take.
“With the way the economy is it’s unbelievable that the fans are still putting their hands in their pockets and come over to support us.
“You only have so many chances to win a Heineken Cup over the course of your career. When we won in 2006 you think you’ll have a load more chances to add to it. Then 2007 slipped by, we managed to win it again in 2008 but last year and now this season again, it’s very disappointing.
“A few people have mentioned about the structures that meant both ourselves and Leinster had away semi-finals against French sides, but you just have to take that as it is.
“If you’re going to win the Heineken Cup you’re going to have to win difficult games.
“Going back to 2008 we had to go away to Saracens, away to Gloucester. They were hard games on the road as well, but we won them and that’s what you’ve got to do to win it.”
Jerry Flannery admitted that Munster’s stuttering set-piece, both scrum and line-out, had contributed significantly to their downfall.
Flannery wrote: “We felt good coming in at half-time and just wanted to step it up in the second half. But our set-piece just didn’t function after that and we weren’t able to get any good ball. It was hard for us to build anything.
“We were kicking the ball to them and they either returned it to us or they kept it, so they seemed to have the ball all the time and we found it impossible to launch any attacks.
“Biarritz are a very well-drilled scrummaging unit and we have to be honest - they gave us a going-over and it’s one of the primary reasons we lost the game.
“We’ve got to hold our hands up. It’s very disappointing for us. I felt we were improving all the time as a scrummaging unit but in this game we just came up short and it cost us.”

Colm Kinsella

Flannery expected to recover

THE Irish management team is confident hooker Jerry Flannery will have recovered from a bruised shoulder injury in time to be considered for selection for Ireland’s RBS Six Nations Championship opener against Italy at Croke Park on Saturday week.
Thirty-one-year-old Flannery made his comeback from an Achilles injury when playing 40 minutes for Shannon in their AIL Division 1A clash with UL-Bohemian at Thomond Park on Saturday.


However, as a result of his bruised shoulder injury Flannery is not included in the Ireland A squad to face the England Saxons in Bath on Sunday.
There was good news for Flannery’s Munster colleague Marcus Horan who is included in the A squad to face the Saxons this weekend. Horan, who played the final 10 minutes of Munster’s Heineken Cup game with Northampton on Friday night, played the entire 80 minutes for Shannon in that AIL clash with UL-Bohemian the following day.
Horan is joined in the 22-strong Ireland A squad by Munster colleagues, Tony Buckley, Mick O’Driscoll, Niall Ronan, Ian Dowling, Denis Hurley and Peter Stringer.
Limerick-born centre Keith Matthews, currently playing with Connacht, is also named in the squad.
Speaking at the Irish training camp in Limerick this week, manager Paul McNaughton said: “Marcus Horan played 10 minutes with Munster on Friday night and has been involved with his club side in their two most recent AIL games.
“He is definitely going across to England this weekend to get some game time against the Saxons.
“Jerry Flannery got 40 minutes of game time on Saturday. He has a bit of a bruised shoulder and we will not risk him on Sunday against the Saxons. Jerry should be eligible for selection for the Italy match.”
A number of players sat out the Irish squad training session in Limerick this Tuesday. Donncha O’Callaghan (knee), Sean Cronin (sprained ankle) and Stephen Ferris (shin) did not train, but none of the players have been ruled out of contention for the first weekend the RBS Six Nations Championship. Keith earls has not yet joined the Ireland training camp due to illness.
The team and replacements for the Ireland ‘A’ team’s clash with the England Saxons at the Recreation Ground, Bath at 2pm on Sunday is named this Thursday.
Prior to Saturday’s AIL match at Thomond Park when her lined out for Shannon, hooker Flannery had not seen competitive action since helping Ireland secure a precious Test win over World Champions South Africa in November.
Afterwards Flannery, who was making his first appearance for the AIL holders since a 2007 appearance against UCD when he was coming back from a shoulder reconstruction, said: “This is my first time to get any game time since the South Africa match and it was good to get through 40 minutes. For the team to get a win was the main thing.
“One half was all they wanting me to play. This is my first week back with rugby. They wanted to limit my game time to 40 to see how the injury reacts. But I came through it ok.
“It was good to come back and play for the club. You see some things haven’t changed with the club. Andrew Thompson is still around and a lot of the other guys are too.
“Marcus was playing and Gaillimh (Mick Galwey) was also in the dressing room after the match. There was a real good family feel about the club, especially after the hard week it has had.
While he has been able to do running exercises while injured, 34-time capped Flannery was relieved to be able to play a competitive game at the end of the week.
“It is the same no matter what level you play rugby, you want to get a game at the end of the week,” Flannery explained.
“For me, it was just a normal week. For seven weeks previously, I was just running all the time and icing the leg and see how it reacts. It was like a seven-day week. Instead of taking the weekend off and playing a game you were giving the injury as much time to recover as you can. It is good to be able to train towards playing.”

Ireland A Squad v England Saxons, Recreation Groud, Sunday January 31, 2pm:
Rory Best (Ulster), Isaac Boss (Ulster), Tony Buckley (Munster), Darren Cave (Ulster), Ryan Caldwell (Ulster), Ian Dowling (Munster), John Fogarty (Leinster), Marcus Horan (Munster), Ian Humphreys (Ulster), Denis Hurley (Munster), Shane Jennings (Leinster), Keith Matthews (Connacht), John Muldoon (Connacht), Fergus McFadden (Leinster), Johne Murphy (Leicester), Mick O’Driscoll (Munster) , Sean O’Brien (Leinster), Niall Ronan (Munster), Mike Ross (Leinster), Peter Stringer (Munster), Devin Toner (Leinster), Paddy Wallace (Ulster).

Colm Kinsella

Flannery facing an uphill battle

MUNSTER hooker Jerry Flannery is facing an uphill battle to be involved in either of the province’s final two Heineken Cup pool games.
Flannery, who is recovering from an Achilles injury, has already been ruled out of Munster’s round five Heineken Cup match away to Benetton Treviso this Saturday (1.35pm Irish time).


And despite making good progress with the injury 31-year-old Flannery is also rated a doubtful starter for Munster’s big final round showdown with the Northampton Saints at Thomond Park on Friday week, January 22 (8pm).
Irish international Jerry Flannery has featured in just one of Munster’s four Heineken Cup pool matches this season, the opening round tie away to Northampton in October.
Despite some excellent showings by former London Wasps star Damien Varley for the province this season, it is likely that Denis Fogarty will line out at hooker for Munster in this weekend’s clash at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo.
Fogarty has started three European Cup games for Tony McGahan’s side this season, scoring tries against Benetton Treviso and USAP Perpignan.
Munster’s preparations for this weekend’s game have been hampered by the recent cold snap which forced the postponement of the scheduled Magners League clash with the Llanelli Scarlets on Sunday.
The adverse weather also delayed the planned comeback of prop Marcus Horan, who had been due to feature for Shannon in their AIL clash with St. Mary’s College at Templeville Road.
The postponement of the Division 1A fixture was a setback to Marcus Horan’s hopes of being involved in Munster’s crunch tie in Italy this weekend.
Up to half the players expected to feature in Munster’s starting line-up on Saturday have not played a competitive game since the province’s bonus-point win over USAP Perpignan in France on December 20.
The rise in temperatures in recent days is a boost to Munster’s on-field preparations, however. The squad train in Cork this Wednesday and are due to fly out to Italy from Shannon Airport this Friday morning.
Benetton Treviso, Munster’s opponents next weekend, went down 8-3 to Petrarca Padova in the Italian Super 10 competition at the weekend.
Meanwhile, on the club front, new dates have been announced for the AIl-Ireland League fixtures which were postponed in recent weeks due to the inclement weather conditions.
Holders Shannon will travel to Templeville Road to face St. Mary’s College in Division 1A on Saturday, January 30 while Division 1B high-flyers Young Munster will host Dungannon at Tom Clifford Park on the same day after both games were postponed at the weekend.
Garryowen, due to be involved in fixtures on each of the five Saturdays over January, are facing into a hectic playing schedule after recent postponements.
The ‘light blues’ are involved in two rounds of scheduled AIL matches over the next two weekends.
Garryowen face Cork Constitution in the AIB Cup final in Athlone on Saturday, January 30 before locking horns with Dolphin at Dooradoyle on February 7 and Blackrock College at the same venue six days later in re-arranged AIL games.
UL Bohemian’s re-scheduled Division 1A clash with Cork Constitution goes ahead on Sunday, February 7 the day after Ireland open their RBS Six Nations Championship campaign at home to Italy.
In Division 2 Thomond will also be in action on Sunday, February 7 when the Fitzgerald Park side travel to West Cork to face Clonakilty at The Vale.
Thomond then have a six-day turnaround before facing Old Wesley at Fitzgerald Park in another re-arranged fixture.
The two remaining Division 2 fixtures featuring Limerick clubs, which were postponed last weekend, go ahead on Saturday, February 13.
Old Crescent host table toppers Lansdowne at Rosbrien while Bruff will face Malone at Kilballyowen Park - see page 61 for list of rescheduled AIl-Ireland League games.

Colm Kinsella

Munster season has now reached a crucial stage

IRELAND hooker Jerry Flannery has admitted that the next three weekends are likely to define Munster’s season in both the Magners League and Heineken Cup competitions.
Tony McGahan’s Munster side will play their first competitive fixture in five weeks when they travel to the Liberty Stadium to face the Ospreys in the Magners League this Saturday (kick off 6.30pm).


Holders Munster are currently one position outside the play-off spots in the Magners League.
However, McGahan’s men have the same number of points as second-placed Edinburgh and lie fifth as a result of their inferior points difference.
The results of Munster’s back-to-back Heineken Cup fixtures against Perpignan on the two subsequent weekends should go a long way towards determining whether Munster make it through to the knock-out stages of the competition.
Munster will host French champions Perpignan at Thomond Park on Friday, December 11 before making the trip to Stade Aime Giral for the return leg on Sunday, December 20.
Fresh from inspiring Ireland to their impressive 20-15 Guinness Series victory over world champions South Africa at the weekend Jerry Flannery said: “From now on we switch back to Munster and we have three very big games coming up with the province. We have the Ospreys and Perpignan twice. These fixtures are pretty much going to define our season.
“From the autumn internationals with Ireland we switch back to provincial mode straight away.
“For the Irish team to do well the provincial teams must be successful.
“I think, much and all as it hurt last year when Leinster beat us in the Heineken Cup semi-final, it was good that they went on and won the competition.
“The winning mentality is spreading through Irish players and it is manifesting itself in the Irish squad.”
Flannery said he was encouraged by the number of younger front-row players coming through at Munster this season.
“Coming through at the minute you have the likes of Stephen Archer and when you look at hooker, you have Damien Varley and Denis Fogarty with Munster. They are both very good players,” Flannery said.
“It is just difficult to find these massive John Hayes-type players. There are not a whole lot of them going around. We have a small player base in Ireland, but we just have to make them the best players we can.
“With the Irish squad we look at ourselves and how we are progressing. We don’t have a massive player base in the country so it is important with the players who are there that we use that to our advantage. We are a tight-knit group. We have to take ownership of the team and try and drive it on. We have to keep improving. Playing against the top sides you learn a lot.”
Meanwhile in the British and Irish Cup Munster A maintained their impressive start to the new competition when recording an impressive 18-6 victory over English Championship side Bristol at Nenagh RFCs club grounds on Friday night.
Munster are currently one point ahead of Nottingham Rugby in the Pool B table. Table toppers Munster will host Nottingham in the next series of games in the inaugural British and Irish Cup on the weekend of February 12-14, 2010 at a venue to be confirmed.
Garryowen will face a trip to Cork to take on Dolphin in the semi-finals of the AIB Cup. Dolphin defeated Galwegians in their re-arranged quarter-final tie to set up the last four meeting with Garryowen on Saturday, December 19 at Musgrave Park.
The AIL resumes next weekend with all seven of Limerick’s senior clubs due to back in action.

COLM KINSELLA

Flannery out for four weeks

MUNSTER have been dealt a major blow ahead of Saturday’s Heineken Cup pool match with Benetton Treviso following confirmation that hooker Jerry Flannery is set to be sidelined for up to four weeks with a calf muscle tear.


Flannery sustained the injury while training with the Munster squad in Limerick this Tuesday. A scan revealed the extent of the injury and indicated that Flannery would be out of action for up to four weeks. The injury puts Flannery’s participation in next month’s Guinness autumn international series in some doubt. Ireland are due to face Australia in their opening game in the series on Sunday, November 15 at Croke Park.
Declan Kidney’s side will then face Fiji at the RDS six days later, before rounding off their programme with a tie against World champions South Africa at Croke Park on Saturday, November 28.
This is the second major injury setback 30-year-old Flannery has suffered in recent months. An elbow injury forced the Limerickman to miss out on the Lions tour to South Africa.
Meanwhile, Dolphin’s James Coughlan will lead a strong Munster ‘A’ side when they take on Leinster at Clonmel RFC this Friday evening.
The Munster backline shows just one change from the one that played in the 28-11 defeat of Ulster at Shaws Bridge last month. Garryowen’s Ronan O’Mahony is named on the right wing in place of Ian Dowling who has been elevated to the province’s Heineken Cup squad.
Thomond’s Declan Cusack, who was very impressive in the victory over Ulster, will again start at out-half. Up front there are changes aplenty with Dave Kilcoyne- selected in place of Dave Ryan- alongside Mike Sherry and Stephen Archer. Ian Nagle is absent through injury so Dave Foley’s second row partner is dependant on who is left of out of the Heineken Cup match day squad. Coach Anthony Foley gave his side a run-out in UL this Tuesday and afterwards expressed his satisfaction at where his squad were at right now.
“I’d be very pleased with the strength of the side, obviously mixing the Academy players with Development and Contracted,” Anthony Foley said.
“We’re coming off a good first outing against Ulster and we see these games as really good preparation for the upcoming British & Irish Cup that kicks off in November. Our objective is to build a side, build a culture that hasn’t been there before and go into that competition with a degree of confidence.”
Assisted by Ian Costello, Foley was quick to enlist former Munster captain Mick Galwey as his team manager.
“Gallimh was keen to get back on board and we were delighted to have him involved. The players too. He’s a massive figure to them. He has a great manner around the squad. Very positive influence.”

Munster ‘A’ v Leinster: Danny Riordan; Ronan O’Mahony, Tom Gleeson, Scott Deasy, Danny Barnes; Declan Cusack, Duncan Williams; Dave Kilcoyne, Mike Sherry, Stephen Archer; Dave Foley, AN Other; Billy Holland, Tommy O’Donnell, James Coughlan capt. Replacements: Sean Henry, Pa O’Regan, Kieran Essex, Peter O’Mahony, Paul Rowley, Andrew Burke, Simon Zebo.

Colm Kinsella

Payne: ‘A lot of competition for places’

MUNSTER rugby manager Shaun Payne has stressed the importance of the three upcoming friendlies against English Premiership opposition to the Magners League champions’ pre-season preparations.
As the Munster squad and management team jetted out to Vilamoura, Portugal for a week-long training camp today Payne said the Musgrave Park fixtures with the Sale Sharks on Friday, August 14 and London Irish on Friday, August 21 and the Welford Road clash against the Leicester Tigers seven days later would prove key elements in helping them finalise their starting line-up for the opening competitive match away to the Glasgow Warriors on September 4.
Munster are set to be without their British & Irish Lions contingent of Paul O’Connell, Ronan O’Gara, Donncha O’Callaghan, Keith Earls and David Wallace until the fourth week of the Magners League campaign. But their absence will allow several less experienced players to gain valuable match time for the province in the opening games of the new Magners League season.
Munster manager Payne also issued positive medical bulletins about hooker Jerry Flannery, who was sidelined with an elbow injury, and scrum-half Tomas O’Leary, who sustained a broken ankle in April.
Both players are recovering well from the injuries which forced them to miss the Lions tour to South Africa.
“Our Lions players, who were in South Africa, are in Portugal until Sunday so that we can give them a full week’s training next week,” Shaun Payne pointed out.
“This is their first week back in training. They have had their four weeks’ holidays and we want them to have as little disruption as possible.
“There is a need for us all to be together, but a need for the Lions to have a decent pre-season as well.
“I think a lot of the guys have come back very fit. That has been impressive. I don’t think some of the younger lads had much of a holiday at all from some of the scores that they are posting in the gym.
“There is a lot of competition for places at the moment.
“Ciaran O’Boyle had an operation last week on his hamstring. That could take a while, a couple of months. It could be the end of the year before he is available to us.
“Everyone else is doing well and on track.
“Tomas O’Leary and Jerry Flannery are exactly where we would like them to be, if not ahead of that, in terms of their recuperation.


“They have been doing really well. In the case of Tomas, you don’t want to be getting ahead of yourself.
“You need to keep things going nice and easy. You don’t want to be pushing an injury like that in any way. He is on track.
“At the minute we will not be playing Jerry Flannery. We will see what happens with the pre-season games.
“Jerry’s work ethic is massive. He has obviously gone away and gotten himself in top shape. We are hoping he will be ready for the start of the new season.”
Payne said that two of the latest overseas players to join the squad, Kiwi scrum-half Toby Morland and French prop Julien Brugnaut, had also been impressing.
“Toby Morland is an excellent player, very fit and technically very good as you would expect from a New Zealand scrum-half.
“He is as tough as nails.
“You can only tell so much in training obviously, but we have been very impressed with what we have seen in training so far.
“With Julien Brugnaut we have gone through and studied a lot of his games. We have seen what he is capable of. He is very strong and a very capable fellow, especially in the scrums.
“I am sure he will fit in very well. He can play at tight-head and loosehead and seems very keen.
“He sees playing with Munster as a big honour and that is something we are delighted with.”

Colm Kinsella

Injury shatters Jerry’s Lions dream

IN a matter of hours this Wednesday the British & Irish Lions dream was shattered for two of Limerick’s best-loved rugby heroes - Jerry Flannery and Alan Quinlan.
In Glasgow a specially-convened ERC disciplinary panel upheld Quinlan’s 12-week ban, while on the training fields in Pennyhill Park Hotel, Bagshot in England, Jerry Flannery sustained an elbow injury to rule him out of the eagerly-awaited tour.


The Shannon duo will now follow the 10-game South African Tour of the British & Irish Lions from their Limerick bases. Their withdrawal leaves captain Paul O’Connell, David Wallace and Keith Earls to carry the hopes of the Limerick rugby community into the tour.
Jerry Flannery is to start rehabilitation immediately and will be assessed by an orthopaedic specialist this Thursday. The Munster and Ireland hooker sustained torn ligaments in his left elbow during a training session with his new team-mates.
When Flannery missed a Lions function in London on Wednesday night, it first became apparent that the popular Limerick man would become the third Munster selection who will not make the flight to South Africa on Sunday.
Hours earlier Munster flanker Alan Quinlan had received the news he had feared.
“The committee found Alan Quinlan had not demonstrated the original decision had been in error or that it should be overturned or varied.
“Accordingly the appeal committee dismissed the appeal and upheld the suspension imposed on the player of 12 weeks,” said and ERC statement relating to Alan Quinlan’s appeal.
Alan Quinlan’s last-ditch bid was to have a 12-week playing ban overturned - he was banned for making contact with the eye area of Leo Cullen during Munster’s Heineken Cup semi-final defeat to Leinster at Croke Park. Quinlan’s suspension is for 12 playing weeks which means the off-season is not included and will therefore not be eligible to play again until September 10.
British & Irish Lions Tour Manager Gerald Davies spoke of Quinlan’s absence.
“Alan Quinlan’s suspension is naturally disappointing and he must be devastated by the outcome of the hearing and appeal. That said the Lions management fully accepts the decisions of the ERC judicial process. The outcome necessitated the selection of a new player and Ian McGeechan and his fellow selectors had no hesitation in selecting Leicester’s Tom Croft,” said Davies.
The words of Davies were echoed by Head Coach Ian McGeechan.
“We had to be fair and allow Alan Quinlan the opportunity to appeal his suspension. However, following the outcome of the appeal we have replaced Quinlan with Tom Croft who, it must be said, was very unlucky not to have been selected in the original tour party. I’m very disappointed Quinlan will have to miss out on a Lions tour, but Tom is a young buck with a lot of talent. He gives us something different,” said the Scot.
Meanwhile, despite winning the 2009 Magners League, Munster have just four players selected on the Magners League Dream Team for the 2008-09 season - Lions captain Paul O’Connell is joined in the Dream Team by Jerry Flannery, Ronan O’Gara and Lifeimi Mafi.
Rugby fans and media across Ireland, Scotland and Wales were asked to vote for their Magners League Dream Team and the player who polled the highest number of votes in each position was been selected for the Dream Team.
The Dream Team features players from four clubs - Ospreys lead the way with five players, while Cardiff Blues and Heineken Cup finalists Leinster have three players in the team.

Magners League Dream Team 2009: Lee Byrne (Ospreys); Tommy Bowe (Ospreys), Brian O’Driscoll (Leinster), Lifeimi Mafi (Munster), Leigh Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues), Ronan O’Gara (Munster), Mike Phillips (Ospreys), Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Jerry Flannery (Munster), Adam Jones (Ospreys), Paul O’Connell (Munster), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Rocky Elsom (Leinster), Martyn Williams (Cardiff Blues), Jamie Heaslip (Leinster).

Jerome O’Connell

Munster must pull out all the stops

HOOKER Jerry Flannery says Munster must ‘pull out all the stops’ if they are to maintain their hopes of completing a big Magners League and Heineken Cup double this season - Munster currently enjoy a three-point lead over great rivals Leinster at the top of the Magners League with five series of games remaining.
The Irish provinces meet in a crucial League tie at Thomond Park on this Saturday night (7.30pm).
Eight days later Munster are due to host the Ospreys in a mouth-watering Heineken Cup quarter-final tie in Limerick as the season reaches a critical point.
Hooker Flannery said Saturday night’s big Magners League tie at Thomond Park has been in the back of Munster players’ minds throughout the RBS six Nations Championship.


“The Leinster game has been in the back of everyone’s mind through the Six Nations.
“It has been on the minds of the Munster boys and I am sure the Leinster guys have been thinking about it as well,” Flannery said.
“It is going to be a big test.
“We had a review meeting in Cork recently and we have almost 80 per cent of our season complete.
“Things are within our control. That means we have to crank things up a bit more.
“We are in contention for the Magners League and for the Heineken Cup.
“It is important that we pull out all the stops.
“The good thing is that we have snapped straight back into work mode coming away from the Grand Slam victory.”
Munster maintained top spot in the Magners League thanks to an impressive 26-13 bonus-point away victory over the Glasgow Warriors at Firhill on Friday night.
Holders Leinster remained within three points of the Heineken Cup champions when four second half tries saw Michael Cheika’s side secure a bonus-point victory over Ulster at the RDS on Sunday evening.
Meanwhile a leading bookmaker has closed the betting on who will become Lions captain for this summer’s tour to South Africa after strong support was reported for Munster skipper Paul O’Connell.
Paddy Power has shut up shop on betting for the role after a sustained splurge on the Munster lock.
Last week Irish skipper Brian O’Driscoll had been an odds-on shot at 1/2 to be named as Lions captain by head coach Ian McGeechan
Paul O’Connell was next best in the market at 13/8 with Paddy Power while Wales skipper Ryan Jones had been available at 6/1.
Ian McGeechan is set to announce his 35 or 36-man squad and confirm his choice of captain at a Heathrow Hotel, London on April 21.
Meanwhile in the AIL, Garryowen moved to top of the pile with a six-try bonus-point victory over Ballymena at Dooradoyle.
It was the ‘light blues’ 10th successive league victory.
Fifth-placed Shannon maintained their top four play-off hopes with a narrow victory over Old Belvedere while UL-Bohemian are closing in on a spot in next season’s new Top 8 section of the league after registering a bonus-point win over UCD. Young Munster’s prospects of retaining their Division One status for next season were severly dented following a last-gasp defeat to Dolphin at Clifford Park.
In Division Two Thomond have given themselves a fighting chance of avoiding relegation after recording a 19-9 win over Wanderers.
Fourth-placed Old Crescent lost 13-20 to DLSP while Bruff went down 20-22 against Ballynahinch.

Colm Kinsella