By Cathal Dervan

Leinster ran in a staggering 13 tries against Bourgoin in a record breaking 92-17 Heineken Cup win at Lansdowne Road on Saturday night, but coach Declan Kidney is urging caution ahead of Friday night’s return in France.

The French side left 11 first team players at home for their Dublin drubbing when Argentina star Felipe Contepomi helped himself to a hat-trick of tries and the man of the match award.

A Leinster win in Bourgoin will all but guarantee a place in the quarterfinals for Kidney’s, side who top Pool 2, but he is taking nothing for granted. 

“It’s only halftime in these fixtures and over the years it’s proved very hard to win both, so we’re already turning our attention to next Friday,” claimed Kidney.

“Some of the players, such as Eric (Miller) and Victor (Costello), who hadn’t played in four-and-a-half weeks, needed the full 80 minutes and hopefully that will help us next week.”

Contepomi added, “We will have to be prepared for a tough encounter next week. It was a good night for us; we played some good rugby, kept the pace and kept ahead in the game. But Bourgoin kept fighting and probably finished better than us.”

No Replay

UCD have all but accepted their fate after the controversy surrounding the point that never was in their Leinster club SHC final defeat to Kilkenny champions James Stephens 10 days ago.

One of the winning points should have been disallowed after the ball hit the upright and clearly went wide according to television replays, but the umpire waved the score and no mention of the controversy was included in the referee’s report.

GAA chief Liam Mulvihill has since suggested that umpires be scrutinized as to their suitability for big games, while former Clare boss Ger Loughnane and current Waterford manager Justin McCarthy have offered their view on the Kilkenny club’s refusal to offer UCD a replay.

“I think this debate is a complete bottle of smoke from UCD,” said the forthright Loughnane. “James Stephens were dead right not to agree to a replay. You play to the score in every game. We are talking about an incident in the 20th minute of the game and there was a lot more hurling to be done afterwards.

“When you consider the speed and height the ball is moving at, there are always going to be occasional misjudgments but you accept that as part of the game. I don’t think video evidence can be admissible once the game is over. The result has to stand.”

Waterford manager McCarthy added, “It would be very hard in fairness on James Stephens to ask them to play the game again.

“I think if you put proper netting behind the goals in all games, it would make it easier for umpires to make the right call 99% of the time. The whole question of video evidence being used is a difficult one. You would have to have it on the spot, and how practical would that be in hurling?”

Director General Mulvihill has also suggested that the GAA may need to appoint independent umpires for major matches. “Sometimes refs and umpires get friendly and the referee could be slow to drop them because of this friendship even after some poor performances,” claimed Mulvihill.

O’Driscoll Impressed

Ireland rugby captain Brian O’Driscoll finally got to walk on the Croke Park pitch at the launch of the Cormac McAnallen trust last week and was impressed with the potential venue for home internationals when Lansdowne Road is closed for rebuilding.

O’Driscoll, joined at the launch by Brian Kerr and Peter Canavan, admitted, “I never played here, I left my primary school in fifth class — a year later the boys got to the schools final at Croke Park!

“I have made frequent trips to Croke Park and even saw the 2003 All-Ireland between Armagh and Tyrone. There is always a great atmosphere in the stadium. This has been the first time that I actually walked out on the pitch and it felt good.

“The stadium is up there with the best in the world now and it would be great to see a sea of green here for a rugby international.”

Details on the Cormac Trust, which aims to provide life saving medical equipment for sportsmen and women of all codes, are available at www.thecormactrust.com.

Must Win

Munster have no option but to beat Castres at Thomond Park on Saturday after losing by 19-12 away to the French side in the Heineken Cup last Friday night.

The only consolation for Alan Gaffney’s side was the fact they took a bonus point back home after their first defeat of the campaign.

Reds captain Anthony Foley admitted, “Getting the bonus point meant we’re leaving here on a positive note, and I hope next weekend we can bounce back. We’re obviously disappointed — we took our foot off the gas in the first half, stopped playing rugby and relied on Ronan O’Gara to kick us to the corners.”

O’Gara added, “We conceded a soft try, and that was ultimately the difference. We had limited preparation but we’re not using it as an excuse.

“This is gone. But we’ve had bigger defeats, in the likes of Kingsholm, and come back from them, so it’s important we show the same steel for next week.”

Crowley Done?

Cork-based Kerry footballer Johnny Crowley has admitted the pressures of work and family commitments may force him to step down from the squad to defend the All-Ireland crown next summer.

“It’s something I need to discuss with my wife Maria, it’s the off-season and we have only finished with the club. I’m trying to get things settled,” said Crowley. “It’s a huge commitment. We have three children, the oldest of whom was three in September. To live in Cork on Garda work, have three kids and to play inter-county football in Kerry is huge.

“I don’t know whether I will be coming back and that’s being honest. Maria would like for me to play, but we’re just saying, is it possible?”

Another Gone

Cork prospect Aisake O hAilpin has joined his brother Setanta at Aussie Rules outfit Carlton Blues and fulfilled a lifetime ambition to become a professional sportsman.

The 19-year-old has been signed as a rookie by the Melbourne club after a successful trial and admitted, “I wanted to come down and see what it was like. As soon as I walked through the doors I loved it. All the lads were great and I knew straight away this is what I wanted to do.

“Like Setanta, I have a real desire to become a full-time professional athlete, something we cannot do in Ireland.”

Lacey Done

Kildare will have to plan for the 2005 Leinster championships without all-star defender Brian Lacey who has announced his retirement from inter-county football at just 30 years of age.

“I have opted out of Padraig Nolan’s panel for 2005,” revealed the Tipperary-born Lacey. “I will be concentrating on my new job with Clarkson Financial and Property Services and any free time I have I will be devoting it to my club Round Towers.

“I’ll see what the future holds after that but I’d like to wish the lads success for next year and hope Kildare supporters get the success they truly deserve,” he added.

Curtis Quits

Donal Curtis has quit the Meath football squad after a successful inter-county career that included an All-Ireland medal in 1999. “I’ve been thinking about it for some time and while I played in recent trial games, the hunger is not there anymore. I also became a father for the first time recently and I suppose that had a bearing on it as well,” said the 31-year-old from Rathkenny.

“I will certainly miss the training and the craic and I’ve made friends for life. But I have absolutely no regrets and maybe if I stayed on longer, I would have ended up regretting it.”

GAA Shorts

ALL-Ireland hurling star Denis Byrne will be available to Kilkenny again after returning to his native Graigue-Ballycallan club after two years in exile with the Mullinahone club and the Tipperary squad . . .

ARMAGH want the GAA to restore all county squads to 30 players for championship matches next season and overturn a new rule that limits panels to 24 players . . .

INCOMING Offaly football boss Kevin Kilmurray has appointed Gerry Cooney and James “Ginger” Stewart as selectors . . .

DUBLIN club Kilmacud Crokes have appointed former county team boss Tommy Lyons as their new chairman.