Jerry Glasier lives in New Zealand where the only religion is rugby. He is currently playing premier club rugby and has helped do scouting for the Hawkes Bay NPC team, now under ex-coach Kieran Keane. Glasier also represented Hawkes Bay at age group basketball. Following the Heineken Cup win from Irish club side Munster, can we expect more from Ireland in this years Summer Tour?
With the Southern Hemisphere's ultimate "club" rugby competition the Super 14 heading towards its final, did anyone in the Southern Hemisphere notice the final of the Northern Hemisphere's premier club competition, the Heineken Cup?
I hope that the coaching staff of the All Blacks and the Wallabies watched and learned, because the way Munster played could give insight into the way ever improving Ireland will play when they tour New Zealand and Australia this June.
The final between Munster and Biarritz was played at a high level of skill and a good game pace. Irish club team Munster narrowly won the Heineken Cup for the first time 23-19. The win helped shake off the chokers tag they carried after losing the 2000 and 2002 finals to Northampton and Leicester. The big plus about the Munster win is the fact that the Munster squad boasts a number of Ireland's top rugby players.
With the number of Irish players playing for Munster, coupled with the Irish team's wins against Italy, Wales, Scotland and World Champion, England in this year's Six Nations, Ireland's upcoming summer is holding a lot of promise for the Irish faithful.
The 2006 summer tour for Ireland consists of three matches in the Southern Hemisphere in June. They play the New Zealand All Blacks in Hamilton and Auckland, and then travel to take on the Australian Wallabies in Perth.
A big motivating factor for the Irish against the All Blacks will be revenge for their dismal 45-7 home loss last November, and the poor performance from the touring Lions team last year. The Lions touring team consists of players picked from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
In addition, the Lions team that was whitewashed 3-0 in their series against the All Blacks had several high profile Irish rugby players in it; most notably Irish and Lions captain Brian O'Driscoll and Ireland vice-captains Simon Easterby and Paul O'Connell.
O’Driscoll's motivation will be more personal than anyone else in the Irish team. He was injured in his first test as captain of the Lions against the All Blacks in an off-the-ball incident. The offending All Blacks were not punished by the judiciary and O'Driscoll with his injured shoulder and dented pride went home early.
He will want to show the New Zealand public and the All Blacks what kind of player and captain he is on the field, and while winning a game against the All Blacks would shut up the doubters, the motivation for the Irish against Australia is different.
Ireland looks to beat Australia to leap-frog themselves in the international rankings where Australia is rated fourth, and Ireland is rated the fifth best international rugby team in the world. So, come June, the hard-working and improving Ireland rugby team could win a game or two on their Southern hemisphere tour.
It would be more than "the luck of the Irish" if they did.