Instead, Galwey and his team mates were having a bit of fun yesterday. Signing autographs for Dublin’s lunching work force, all in a good cause. It was Daffodils rather than roses they were focusing on. There was the Claw, a mischievous smile on his face, marking Gallimh with a black marker. There was the Munster skipper getting his revenge as awe struck school kids, and a few adults, gathered around. Look, miss, there’s Denis Hickie as the flying Dubliner peered up from under the peak of his cap. All fun and frolics.

However, the spectre of foot and mouth hung like a stale odour. The bad news from Cooley peninsula was still the topic. After the restrictions being lifted, they thought normality would creep back into Irish Rugby. They will be out on the pitches this weekend once more. But, for how long?

“It’s disappointing, especially after all the Government had done to keep it out of the country. But, they are doing their best to keep it confined, and all we can is hope it stays there,” Galwey said.

Of course, it casts further doubt on the completion of the Six Nations. “I wouldn’t think the remaining games are in doubt. I suppose, it is hard to say and if this thing continues to spread, there may be a review of the situation. But, if they can get hold of that outbreak in Louth and there is no further outbreaks down south, there will be no further disruptions. As far as the Irish team goes, we are all going to have to wait and see.”

The lack of rugby, though, must be a worry. While the Irish players were asked by the Government to put their feet up, elsewhere, it was all systems go. The English and the French, the two groups of most immediate concern to Clohessey and Galwey, have been playing as usual.

“There are two ways to look at that,” Galwey feels. “The one good thing is it afforded us the opportunity to train harder and even have a bit of a rest for a while. It will refresh us, to a certain extent. But, it is tough to be missing games. This weekend, of course everybody knows about, we should have been playing England. That was going to be the big one.

“As players, we have to just keep looking at the positives. We have to believe that the England game is going ahead, keep preparing ourselves, keep working out. It is one of those things that is out of our control.

Galwey looks back at the season in a bewildered mood. Strange one, this. Usually when you are cursing your luck at sitting out Six Nations games, it is because of injury or bad form. This time, it is down to nature.

“Yeah, it’s been a strange season. It is something you can never budget for. When you miss a few games, you think it might be because of injuries or getting dropped or other reasons. But, certainly not something like this. It is something nobody has ever experienced before and it has taken a lot of getting used to.”

The fear is how much of a disruption this is going to be. Ireland, everyone knows about. Munster is another problem. When they go to France in a few weeks time, they will be facing players who have had no time away from the game. They may accentuate the positives, but that has got to be a disadvantage.

“Munster are still on track. The semi final game is still going ahead as far as we know, so we must look at that.” A help to the lack of games will be Munster’s tussle with the best of the rest on April 14. It will be a significant test as Galwey knows.

“That game with the rest of Ireland will be a very important game for us. We found out earlier in the year that in some of these games you learn more form than any other. The Leinster game at the start of the year is a case in point. We were beaten in that, saw where our problems were and went out and beat Newport the following weekend.