Ronan O'Gara: When Limerick kids look for heroes these days, where do they turn?
Ben Healy’s absence with a shoulder issue this weekend is a blow for Munster, says Ronan O’Gara, but with Joey Carbery not in the picture at present, there’s a wide-open opportunity for the ex-Ireland U20 to advance his case with his home province. Hopefully, he won’t be out too long.
Caught another of those marathon Sundays last weekend. La Rochelle got home from Edinburgh and a positive start to the Heineken Champions Cup at 4am. A few hours later the tape review of the game began. By day’s end though, I was thinking GAA, the fitness of those Limerick hurlers and my old buddy Aidan O’Connell.
I spent the guts of 15 years working strength and conditioning under Aidan at Munster. Now I see he is piloting another new project for Cork GAA as their head of high performance. I love the man’s passion and his energy.
Come Sunday afternoon, I did what any full-blooded Irish man does on All-Ireland final day — I became a hurling expert. Racing 92 and Connacht played second fiddle. Those Limerick hurlers looked in serious nick.
Kyle Hayes powering through tackles, bombing up and down the left flank for Limerick, all 6’5” of him. Man of the match Gearóid Hegarty popping up here, there, and everywhere. That lad was different class. Twenty-six years of age, the same size as Hayes, in the prime of his career.
You know where this is going. Wearing my Munster rugby blinkers, I was watching and thinking why young Hayes wasn’t bombing up and down the left wing in Thomond Park instead of Croke Park. I know from listening to Anthony Daly’s that Limerick GAA started putting serious effort and resource into the Academy structures around six years ago.
I am not making any definitive assertions regarding the sporting talent pool in Limerick, but I was left to wonder if, a decade ago, those Limerick lads would have been flying down the wing or jumping in the second row at Thomond Park?
It’s an obvious and legitimate question. I understand these things are cyclical. There’s a strong west Cork cohort wearing the red of Munster these days. I wonder how Niall Cahalane feels about that!
Last Sunday was a moment in time, but the Limerick representation on the Munster squad that defeated Harlequins amounted to, unless I am mistaken, starters Conor Murray and Keith Earls — both of whom have turned 30 — plus Ard Scoil Ris’ Craig Casey, off the bench.
I am absolutely sure everyone in Limerick was united in their joy at the second All-Ireland in three years but folk in Munster Rugby wouldn’t be doing their jobs right if they weren’t interrogating their own process to ensure none of these talents slipped through the net.
This is a great time for Limerick GAA. Imagine in a non-Covid world what the feelgood factor would have been like around the city had there been 80,000 fans in Croke Park last Sunday and a similar number on the streets of Limerick for the homecoming Monday?
Every kid has to dream, and they mimic the heroes they see scoring on the biggest stage. When my eldest lad Rua plays rugby now, he is Antoine Dupont firing out a pass or Cheslin Kolbe diving over in the corner for a wonder try.
When a young lad in Limerick is looking for inspiration these days, who is he looking to? Probably Kyle Hayes or Gearóid Hegarty.
And this Limerick side doesn’t appear to be going anywhere soon if they keep their wits about them. It was intriguing to watch how they never really let go of their vice-like grip on the game.
Their scores were better-worked and hence, looked easier to come by. Or is it that hurling scores are too handy to come by anyway?
It would have been really informative to see what the crowd would have been at Thomond Park on Sunday evening if things were normal. Or whether the game would have been at 5.30pm in the first place.
I make the points because these are challenging and important times for Munster Rugby and I don’t like dwelling on the province that much because my time there is from another era. I get that everything else should play second fiddle to the All-Ireland final.
But Limerick’s victory, the manner of it and the impact it will have on the city and county is an interesting challenge for rugby in a key part of the province.
Munster’s performance against Harlequins was not going to get you out of your chair, but there were nice, discernible signs of progress, nonetheless. They looked more secure (‘structured’ is the wrong word) in what they were doing than they have in recent campaigns.
There were days in the last couple of years at Thomond where you were never too sure which way the momentum was going to tip but last Sunday, they looked to have the measure of Harlequins once the visitors had that early ‘try’ ruled out.
Thereafter, Quins did a reasonable impression of a French Top 14 side on the road with the level of ill-indiscipline.
Bonus points are a hot topic in this revamped Champions Cup. In the context of Munster, the quickest way to put the debate over a missed one last weekend is to win tomorrow evening at Stade Michelin. I would contest anyone who believes or accepts Munster can only target a losing bonus point on Saturday. Clermont are a dangerous crew, as Bristol found to their cost. But there is another side to them, they have struggled for consistency and there will be no Yellow Army to give them a leg up this time.
Since losing that Cup quarter-final to Racing (more comprehensively than the 36-27 scoreline indicates), they have improved game on game in the Top 14 for sure, but Montpellier turned them over at the Stade Michelin only a couple of weeks ago.
They have the Japanese talent Matsushima, plus Penaud, and Raka in the back three but believe me, this game is winnable for Munster. It’s a pity the Toulouse-Exeter game is off this weekend but beyond them, Racing and Leinster, anyone can beat anyone else of the remaining sides in Europe.
The idea of a losing BP is reflective of an attitude around Munster that hopefully is in the process of changing. There is a lot of good, young energy around the squad at the moment, illustrated by the zest of Craig Casey and Ben Healy at half back.
The 10’s absence with a shoulder issue this weekend is a blow.
Healy was very good with ball in hand the last day, even though most of the post-game comment was on his penalty kick. He’s already generating chatter elsewhere.
Timing in sport can be such a crude (and cruel) arbiter. With Joey Carbery not in the picture at present, there’s a wide-open opportunity for the likes of the ex-Ireland U20 to advance his case with his home province.
Hopefully, he won’t be out too long.
