The ground swell of opposition to the Union's move to disband Connacht has also gathered momentum in Leinster, judging by their committee meeting last Tuesday.

When John Hussey, considered one of the four main protagonists for jettisoning Connacht, presented the Union's case, the vast majority of the delegates present reputedly supported the under fire province.

The feeling was summed up by one committee member, who is also on the IRFU 22-man committee, when he commented: "When you amputate one of your limbs you don't get to put it back on again."

This would confirm the impression that the mood might have swung away from an original anti-Connacht line even at IRFU committee level, although none of them is mandated by their branches or clubs as to how they should vote; that's if the proposal even comes to a vote.

A more conciliatory Philip Browne admitted there is no guarantee a vote will be taken at the planned committee meeting of February 7th. Before then both the Connacht Branch and the Irish Rugby Players' Association have been asked to make their submissions by February 1st, while Browne has confirmed the Union will do likewise in return.

"There will be a lot of presentations to discuss and debate and whether the committee will then make a decision or not I don't know," said Browne. "That depends on the dynamics of the meeting."

Browne said that Connacht will have to come up with some good solutions and ideas of their own and that the Union's coffers are not a bottomless pit.

Then again, as one of the Connacht lobbyists remarked, are the other three, more spendthrift provinces, being obliged to come up with submissions as well.

"Since when did Connacht suddenly have a monopoly on ideas?" That said, Browne's own opinion was that while the Union should continue subsidising them, each of the provinces should become more autonomous and that ultimately the professional game should become self-financing.

Meanwhile, a 'rumour' going around the rugby grapevine is that the Ulster Branch have already met, discussed and made a decision regarding this vexed issue, and agreed to backing the Union proposal to dissolve Connacht. The Ulster Branch chief executive Michael Reid has denied that this meeting even took place.

"There has been no Ulster Branch committee meeting on this issue and no vote taken. There was an executive meeting of the committee at which there was a very broad discussion about the need to make cuts in the running of both the professional game and the domestic game, but no decisions were taken," said Reid yesterday.

"Our president, Kelly Wilson, was very distraught when these claims were made in the southern press and actually rang Leo Galvin (president of the Connacht Branch) to assure him that no such vote or decision was made by the Ulster Branch." added Reid.