Welcome to Sunbury, or should that be Armageddon? On a snowy, shiveringly cold, dreary, dank day in London, the Irish squad went through two discernibly shorter and more intense sessions at the home of London Irish.
Good they were too, captain Keith Wood observing that the cold seemed to concentrate the mind. Next Saturday's joust with Italy may not have been the most ideal fixture ever planned; but at least what's left of a disrupted Irish squad were present and all correct.
And, at last, they could start focusing on the game.
"It's gone well today," reflected a contented Brian Ashton in the foyer of the Richmond Hill Hotel. The brochure says it's "on the crest of Richmond Hill with views over the River Thames", though in truth you could hardly see beyond the car park. "It's been an interesting change of scenery, number one, and a change of weather, number two," added Ashton. "We trained on a cold, wet, snowy day; but the standard has been good."
The sessions were limited to about 75-80 minutes, a noticeable reduction from the norm this season, and not entirely motivated as a safeguard against hypothermia. "Everything we've done, we've done at match pace and this afternoon was full contact although there won't be any more full contact sessions this week."
Explaining why the sessions are more intense the Irish coach said: "It's taken a while to get to that stage; but now we've got the basic organisation and philosophy in place which is what the Wednesday sessions were all about. Hence we're fine-tuning and tinkering, changing the odd thing here and there. We can now build in the intensity because everybody knows what's expected."
Amid the gloom it wasn't all sweetness and light, however. Young Munster are apparently in a state of high dudgeon over RTE's slow-motion replay of Peter Clohessy's stamping on Olivier Roumat's head in his last appearance for Ireland during Monday evening's news. Maintaining this counter-offensive, Clohessy himself declined to be interviewed by the man from RTE. In a display of Limerick solidarity, Irish manager Pat Whelan informed the Montrose inquisitor that he had advised Clohessy accordingly.
Nonetheless, Clohessy's recall should theoretically underline the relative strength and depth Ireland has in one position at least. "We're probably the most fortunate home union nation to have a tight-head prop of Peter Clohessy's quality to replace somebody like Paul Wallace," observed Ashton.
Asked about Clohessy's "difficulties" in the past, the ever dry Ashton retorted: "You mean his back problem?" But when pressed, the Irish coach said: "The players are well aware now of the standard that we set both on the field and off the field and what's expected of them in all areas of the game. They are well aware that if they overstep the mark then it's likely to be `frowned upon'."
Interpret that how you like. Ashton accepted that the enforced changes have, to some degree, brought about a certain imbalance to both the three-quarter line and back row, in that all concerned are playing in their customary positions.
The Irish coach admitted that David Erskine's surprising omission was a tough call. "I know people laugh at me when I say this; but there's a difference between being dropped and being left out. Being left out means that you are still in the 21-man squad and it's now a 21-man game in which these guys can come on at any stage.
"David Erskine can cover 8, 6, 4, and 5 and again it was an opportunity to look at (Dylan) O'Grady who would have been right in the frame from the start of the season had he been fit and playing."
Finally, although the infamous missive from English Rugby Partnership chairman Donald Kerr, stating their refusal to release English-based players apparently arrived by fax to the IRFU yesterday, the affair seems to have rumbled to a conclusion.
Wood, weary of it all after being placed in a very invidious position by next Saturday's clash, given he is captain of both Harlequins and Ireland, curtly reiterated: "I'm here aren't I?" as proof that the matter was over. Nonetheless for all Kerr's sabre-rattling, you sense that a lot more rumbled underneath the surface than was perhaps let on.
Wood had his first run-out for Harlequins on Saturday since sustaining ankle ligament injury against the All Blacks, although a 70-minute sub's appearance was clearly more than he bargained for.
"I didn't quite expect to play that much, but I got through it okay. I wasn't particularly dynamic or effective but I did my job. I threw pretty well and I scrummaged pretty well and got around the pitch; but I wasn't flying all over the place. I wasn't quite ready for that."
Italy will be a sterner test. "I'm sure I won't be perfect for three or four weeks; but I don't know of any player who actually goes on the pitch and says he's absolutely perfect, bodywise anyway. Not any more."
