Rugby: I'll be back insists Howarth as day of judgment nears

LONDON - Shane Howarth has vowed to play for Wales again, despite an eligibility hearing next week that could terminate his test career.

Howarth and flanker Brett Sinkinson need to prove their Welsh eligibility when they appear before an International Rugby Boardappointed panel in Dublin.

Although they have collected 33 caps between them, doubts have been raised about both players' Welsh ancestry.

Newport fullback Howarth and Neath flanker Sinkinson claimed that Welsh grandfathers allowed them to wear the famous red jersey.

But a subsequent newspaper investigation disputed those connections, prompting a full-scale Welsh Rugby Union inquiry and subsequent IRB appointment next Thursday.

The players will be joined in Dublin by WRU president Sir Tasker Watkins, secretary Dennis Gethin and rugby director Terry Cobner.

Neither Howarth nor Sinkinson has played for Wales since the allegations surfaced last month, missing out on Six Nations matches against Scotland and Ireland.

But Howarth said yesterday that he was determined to resume his international career, whatever happened in Dublin, knowing that he would qualify on residency grounds in a couple of years.

One stumbling block, though, could be his age - he will be 32 in July.

"I will have to wait and see what the result is, but I am willing to take it either way," the 19-times Welsh-capped fullback said.

"I may have to sit it out and qualify for two more years, but it is out of my hands now and I will just have to take it.

"Although the three feathers may be off my chest, I am completely Welsh and will be until I die.

"Either way, I will be back. I owe that to the Welsh supporters who have been fantastic to me.

"I can't wait to be back and if it takes two years, then I will do it. I will look after myself and keep fit in order to repay the fans.

"I never want to experience what I have been through again. I've never been that low. It was abso- lutely gut-wrenching," Howarth said.

The three-man IRB panel is scheduled to meet over two days. Bristol-born Scotland prop Dave Hilton's case, among others, is also on the agenda.

Both the WRU and Scottish Rugby Union could face sanctions if decisions go against them.

- NZPA