Munster players challenged to create their own legacies at the dawn of a new era
Denis Leamy said Jack Crowley and Craig Casey are "at a stage of their careers where there's so much more in them". Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie
Denis Leamy has challenged Munster’s current generation to kick on after the retirements of key players over the summer and create their own legacies in the famous red jersey.
Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray and Stephen Archer all called time on their careers after the conclusion of last season, taking with them hundreds of caps with club, country and the British and Irish Lions and an immeasurable amount of sheer nous.
Their absences this term can hardly be overstated as new boss Clayton McMillan gets his feet under the table at Thomond Park, and defence coach Leamy knows that it will fall both to the coaching staff and to the players themselves to make up for the gaps left behind.
“It can be a very organic thing, and it's the natural cycle of playing squads, isn't it? Players move on all the time. The idea is to have players who are nearly ready to go in.
“Players aren't always ready to just step into the shoes of someone like Stephen Archer or Peter O’Mahony or Conor Murray. But the reality is an awful lot of work has gone into people like Paddy Patterson, Ethan Coughlan, these types of players.
“You think in the back row, Brian Gleeson, Ruadhan Quinn, these guys have been around a number of years, and just their ability now to put their best foot forward, it’s their time.
“It's their chance, and it's their opportunity to go on and create something and leave a lasting legacy in the jersey, just like the fellas we mentioned.”
There are different ways and means of instilling leadership into teams.
Leamy spoke of the “old school” approach that the province has taken to their summer work prior to Saturday’s URC opener away to Scarlets with McMillan and his staff introducing boxing, rowing, swimming and hill runs in an attempt to sharpen mental toughness.
And there was due notice of what the two-time Heineken Cup winner called “little subtle changes” in how the team will play under their new Kiwi taskmaster with a major focus on “traditional values” and being tough around the set piece and elsewhere.
“Bringing that real grit around the contact area,” he explained, “and then maybe playing with a little bit more pragmatism at times in our own half and stuff like that without ever going away from trying to play the game in the right way, and being of an attacking nature.”
If stiffening the collective resolve is a priority then there are still some individual trump cards to play.
Tadhg Beirne won’t feature until the round four URC tie away to Leinster. The Kildare man will return then on the back of a player of the series gong with the victorious British and Irish Lions and ready, no doubt, to shoulder another huge workload for the greater good.
The versatile forward has played over 50 times for Munster in the last three seasons. That’s a notable number given his commitments in green - and in Australia over the summer - and the ever-present threat of injury. Now 33, he shows no sign of slowing down.
“Yeah, absolutely,” said Leamy, “and his durability and his ability to go from week to week is hugely valuable to the squad and to Ireland as well, and obviously the Lions. But his ability to play in 25-30 games a season, that's invaluable.
“To play at the level he does week in, week out just shows how good a player he is, and we're hugely, hugely proud of what he's done in terms of the Lions. We're very, very lucky to have him as well.”
If Beirne will be integral to the McMillan project then it will fall on the half-back pairing of Jack Crowley and Craig Casey to implement much of the tactical thinking while shouldering their own share of that redistributed leadership burden.
Crowley is 25 now, a man who is well established at club and international level and someone with a bit to prove as he jostles with Sam Prendergast for the right to wear the Ireland No.10 jersey.
Casey is already 26, a point at which players are supposed to enter their athletic prime, and someone who has already captained his country after the summer tour of Georgia and Portugal under the watchful eye of Paul O’Connell.
“They are two guys that have been around a while now, haven't they? They've got a lot of international experience, and they're pretty impressive young men, in fairness. Their knowledge of the game, and when they speak, how articulate they are, it's great to see them grow over the last couple of years.
“The value that they have, both in the dressing room and on the pitch, you can't underestimate that. They're at a stage of their careers where there's so much more in them. Their potential is huge, so I've no doubt they'll drive it on.”
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