Trouble continues to mount for the Irish rugby team in advance of next Saturday's friendly international against Italy in Bologna. Wasps centre Rob Henderson and London Irish flanker Kieron Dawson were victims of this weekend's English Premiership programme and are definitely ruled out, while next weekend's English club games place a cloud over the participation of some Irish players, Keith Wood particularly.
Henderson sustained a torn groin in Wasps' defeat by Harlequins on Saturday, while Dawson damaged ankle ligaments. Both players will be sidelined for at least a fortnight.
Meanwhile, English Rugby Partnership (ERP) - the umbrella body for the professional English clubs - and, in particular, Harelequins are continuing to flex their muscles with the IRFU and the International Board. Further to ongoing written exchanges with the IRFU, ERP sent a letter to Lansdowne Road on Thursday stating that players involved in next week's Premiership games will not be released for the Ireland-Italy game.
The letter, an extract of which was published in the Title yesterday, was signed by Donald Kerr, who is both chief executive at Harlequins and chairman of ERP. If the threat is fulfilled, it would mean that both countries' captains, the Harlequins front-row pair of Wood and Italian skipper Massimo Cuttitta, would not be released; nor would Leicester number eight Eric Miller.
However, IRFU secretary Philip Browne claimed that his union had not received the letter yet and added that "we have been in contact with all our English-based players and they have all indicated that they will be playing".
Although ERP claim that the IB's Regulation 8, which stypifies that international unions will have first and last call on their players, is illegal, solicitors acting on behalf of the International Board are ready and poised for a court battle if it comes to it.
Furthermore, an otherwise tight-lipped Kerr himself fuelled the suspicion that the English clubs are sabre-rattling in a bid to lay a benchmark for future club-v-country disputes, when admitting yesterday: "All I can say is that I don't want to victimise Keith Wood in this problem."
Nevertheless, the dispute is likely to drag on this week, all the more so as the probable replacements for both Henderson and Wood (were Harlequins not to release the Irish captain) are the Northampton pair of Jonathan Bell and Allen Clarke, whose club play Richmond next Sunday.
The loss of Dawson will probably mean that new cap Dylan O'Grady will switch to openside, with David Erskine being handed the number six shirt he wore against Canada.
Irish manager Pat Whelan was unavailable for contact yesterday, but both Henderson and Dawson have confirmed to The Irish Times that neither will be fit in time to play Italy. Henderson said: "Obviously I'm gutted about not playing next weekend. Once you lose your spot on the team it's very hard to get it back, but at least the problem seems to have been detected very early on."
