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Happy Days for David Wallace

Happy Days for David Wallace

The last few days have been a little euphoric for David Wallace what with the sensational win playing for Munster over over Stade Francais and then the news today that we would be winning his 10th

The last few days have been a little euphoric for David Wallace what with the sensational win playing for Munster over over Stade Francais and then the news today that we would be winning his 10th international cap against Wales in Sunday’s opening Six Nations game against Wales. Things have been happening so quickly that Wallace has to take a breath when asked about his schedule over the past few days, “Well it has been a bit hectic really. We flew out to Paris on Thursday at midday and got back to Shannon Airport on Saturday at about 11.30. Then we had to get to the Glenview Hotel on Sunday to join up with the national squad. I travelled there with Paul O’Connell and the Claw and by the time we got there we weren’t fit for anything but sleep.”

Looking back on the Stade game, he recalls those final tense minutes. ” With about ten minutes to go I remember Dominguez kicked a penalty to leave just two points in it but I wasn’t really worried. We had held them out for so long and we all knew what we had to do. We knew we couldn’t make mistakes. We couldn’t give him a shot at goal. You sorta get a vibe and the vibe was good. When the final whistle went the feeling was relief more than anything else. Then the whole place erupted. We were smothered in Munster supporters, it was crazy but marvellous at the same time. It seemed to take an eternity to get off the field. Mind you we were back in the dressing room a long time before Mick Galwey finally arrived. We went down to Parc de Princes for the after match reception and eventually got back to Shannon at about 11.30. My girlfriend Aileen met me there and Marcus (Horan) gave us a lift home. Then we headed into Clohessy’s for a few beers.

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The last famous victory in France was in Bordeaux and comparison is inevitable but Wallace treasures the Bordeaux memory most, ” Performance wise, last Saturday was right up there with anything we’ve done but for me the Bordeaux game still remains the sweeter. When you think about it, everything was against us. We weren’t as experienced. The weather was so hot, we were up against a Toulouse side who were considered unbeatable, and it was a semi-final, such an immense occasion. Yet the team rose to it and it’s something I’ll always remember.” Since then of course there have been victories for Munster in Castres and now Paris. Surely not a question of Munster becoming blasi about playing the French in France. ” Not all, says Wallace, ” and it’s not just a question of Munster winning in France, but Ireland as well. I suppose it’s an indication of how the game has turned around in Ireland that we are now able to compete with the French at this level of competition.”

Looking forward to the game on Sunday, it will be only the second time David Wallace has played against the Welsh at senior level, “I’ve played against them at every other level and would have huge respect for them. They’ve been having a quiet time of late but that won’t last, they’ve too many quality players. There’s also a huge expectation out there and that means added pressure. But things have been going well in training. There’s a good atmosphere and no difficulty in adapting to the new management.”

Of course you would say that David.

“Well look at it this way. From my point of view, there hasn’t been a huge change in personnel. I know Eddie well from his role with Ireland so there’s nothing to get used to there. Obviously the same goes for Declan and Niall. The difference now is Eddie is the boss and Declan and Niall are his support team. Everyone is comfortable with that. The introduction of others like Mike Forde has already been beneficial in that some of the work he did with us during the international squad session in Limerick stood to us against Stade Francais. So now it’s so far so good and let’s hope for a bit of luck on Sunday.