Duffy thrilled with World Cup inclusion

Home

Sections

Sport

Written by Dan O'Shea

Wednesday, 15 August 2007

Connacht's versatile back Gavin Duffy is thrilled to have been included in Eddie O'Sullivan's 30 man squad for World Cup in France next month.

Duffy's inclusion appeared in doubt the previous day after being forced to retire after 27 minutes with a hip injury against Scotland but it turned out he had done enough all year to claim his place.

"I was thinking about it going to sleep on Saturday night and wondering whether I'd be included in the squad or not," said the former Mayo minor footballer.

"Then on Sunday morning I got the call telling me the good news and I was delighted. At the moment I'm still over the moon but I know we've got to focus on the task ahead."

Duffy joins former Connacht hooker Jerry Flannery and scrum-half, Eoin Reddan in making the cut but is well aware that the hard work has yet to be done.

"I'm delighted obviously, it's a huge honour and a very exciting time to be involved in Irish rugby," the 25 year old said. "I know there's a lot of hard work ahead in the coming weeks but I'm very much looking forward to the challenge."

Having come off the field early against Scotland on Saturday with a hip injury, there was a question mark over how seriously Duffy was injured and if that alone could rule him out of the World Cup.

"It was pretty devastating coming off during the Scotland game. I didn't know if I'd done enough or not, it was a big game for a lot of players and I had to go out and prove that I was up to the task. So when I went off injured I wasn't sure if my chance had gone. I was very unhappy to go off but I just couldn't continue.

"I got a bang on the hip when I went up for a garryowen with Paddy Wallace and collided with the Scottish full back, Rory Lamont. I tried to continue but I just couldn't run it off. Thankfully though it's not as serious as I first thought and I should be fine in a few days time."

After, losing to a full strength Scottish side, the mood in the Irish dressing room proved to be mixed. Eddie O'Sullivan had experimented with the a number of players in his squad and answered a number of questions ahead of naming his squad for the World Cup the following morning. But there was still uncertainty in the minds of many as to whether they'd made the cut or not and others feeling the loss to a Scottish side for the first time since 2001.

"There was definitely a lot of mixed emotions," the Ballina born Duffy said. "On the one hand it was hugely disappointing. As a team we had aspired to get a result but didn't perform up to our expectations. Everybody had been hoping to play well but the main thing is to realise our mistakes and to put in three or four hard weeks work ahead of the World Cup."

Comments (0) »

Show/Hide comment form toggle

< Prev		Next >

[ Back ]

Custom Search

Will you shop locally this Christmas?

	Yes
	No
	Don't Know

Most Popular - Features

Random Features Articles