David Wallace and Ronan O'Gara have supplemented the groundswell of support building up behind Frankie Sheahan by issuing strongly worded statements in support of their Munster and Ireland team-mate, whose appeal against a two-year ban for excessive levels of salbutamol in his system after the European Cup semi-final will be heard by an independent Appeal Committee in Dublin on Monday.
As things stand, Sheahan has the "unconditional" support of the Irish Rugby Union Players Association, as well as that of his club Cork Constitution, Munster players and management and the Irish Asthma Society, and Wallace, a fellow asthma sufferer, said he could easily have been in Sheahan's position.
"To be perfectly honest I would have been like Frank in that I'd take puffs of my inhaler whenever and as often as I felt I needed to. I wouldn't have known that I could be in danger of exceeding limits and I can honestly say that there probably would have been times in the past when, if I'd been tested, I could have found myself in the same situation that Frank now finds himself in," Wallace said yesterday.
"The point is that people like us, asthma sufferers, don't take Ventolin for the hell of it. We have to take it. And from what I've read, it seems ERC took no notice whatsoever about Frank's condition."
The ERC will, no doubt, dispute Wallace's latter claim, but in any event O'Gara (who suffers from asthma as well) also maintained his belief that Sheahan was innocent of any deliberate wrongdoing.
"I just think it's unbelievable really. Frankie and I have played together since we were 10 years of age and he always had to use his inhaler before and during matches. I have seen him in distress many times as a result of his asthma, and I know that, like myself, it would be unsafe for him to play without using an inhaler. I was with Frankie after the Toulouse game and witnessed his terrible cramping as a result of his severe dehydration."
The Appeal Committee will consist of Jeff Blackett (chairman, England), Jeff Probyn (England) and Dr Roger Evans (Wales). As the committee does not begin sitting until 3.30 p.m., and Sheahan and his legal advisors are believed to have put together a substantial number of medical witnesses on his behalf (some linked up by satellite cameras), it will be surprising if there is an outcome by Monday evening.
The following Sunday, September 7th, is the deadline for Ireland's World Cup squad announcement and the countdown continues this week with the second of three warm-up/trial games, against Italy at Thomond Park next Saturday.
The starting line-up and replacements for that game will be announced today, and yesterday Keith Gleeson was called up to the squad as cover in light of Victor Costello's inability to train with the calf strain that has already ruled him out of the Ireland-Wales match as well as Leinster's pre-season friendly with Gloucester last Friday night.
David Wallace, who is one of the additional players in Limerick for squad training, was sidelined yesterday by the ankle strain he sustained in Munster's win over Rotherham last Friday, though it is not thought to be serious. Keith Wood, not in the 22, was also called in purely for training purposes.
This evening, Eddie O'Sullivan and the other members of the Irish management will be in attendance as Connacht take on London Irish in a pre-season friendly to mark the official opening of the new Connacht headquarters at the Sportsground (kick-off 6.30 p.m.).
Four players will start in a Connacht jersey for the first time: Clontarf's David Hewitt at outhalf (in place of the injured Eric Elwood), his clubmate Adrian Clarke at tight-head, former Australian under-21 Andrew Farley at lock and Blackrock back-rower Michael Carroll.
Bernard Jackman, another Clontarf man, makes a prodigal return at hooker. Others ruled out by injury included Marnus Uijs, Peter Bracken, Shane Moore, Matt Mostyn and Mike Walls.
London Irish will field a full-strength side including Irish internationals Justin Bishop, Bob Casey and Barry Everitt.
CONNACHT (v London Irish): M McHugh; T Robinson, D Yapp, T Allnutt (capt), W Munn; D Hewitt, C Keane; D McFarland, B Jackman, A Clarke, D Browne, A Farley, M Swift, M Carroll, J O'Sullivan. Replacements: W O'Kelly, J Fogarty, F Boiroux, M McCarthy, T Carter, M Lacey, C O'Loughlin, D Connellan, P O'Sullivan, C McPhillips.
