Donal Lenihan: Munster tyros living the dream in red

Scott Buckley wouldn’t have made anything like the impact he did without his exposure to the AIL. Yet key personnel in the IRFU’s rugby department continue to look down their noses at this level of rugby

Munster’s Scott Buckley celebrates after scoring a try with Conor Murray and Daniel Okeke during the Heineken Champions Cup clash at the Coventry Building Society Arena. This was a day all six starting European debutants will look back on and treasure for the rest of their playing days, regardless of what happens from here. Picture: Dan Sheridan

The old adage of “one man’s pain is another’s gain” held true for a whole cohort of aspiring Munster rugby players who were handed the golden ticket to represent their province on the European stage in Coventry last Sunday.

Sport is full of incidences where someone is plucked from relative obscurity only to produce something special. Just think back to the 1991 PGA Championship when John Daly, in his first season on the full tour, was called in as the ninth reserve and went on to win his first major.

The circumstances may have been entirely different but New Zealand rugby reached crisis proportions when forced to start 11 new caps, in a side dubbed the “Baby Blacks” ever since, against France in 1986 after 31 players were suspended on the back of the rebel Cavaliers — New Zealand in all but name — tour to South Africa that year. Against all odds, they beat France 18-9 securing them a special place in New Zealand rugby folklore.

The most famous graduate of the “Baby Blacks” was hooker and future captain Sean Fitzpatrick whose premature elevation to All Black status didn’t do him any harm. It will be very interesting to track how many of last Sunday’s red cubs go on to make a lasting impression in Munster colours over the next few years.

On the basis of a man-of-the-match performance against Wasps, it’s reasonable to suggest that hooker Scott Buckley has the capacity to do a Fitzpatrick on it and go all the way even if the standard being set by Ronan Kelleher and Dan Sheehan in the hooking department at present is off the scales. Buckley is certainly good enough to command a place in Munster’s current match day squad even when the management have a full deck to pick from.

As a hooker, there’s nowhere to hide, especially when it comes to delivering consistency at the lineout. So often he comes under the microscope when the lineout malfunctions, even when the blame lies elsewhere.

That Munster’s lineout delivered a 100% return during the 70 minutes Buckley was on the field speaks volumes not only for the hooker but also for the clever calling and the masterful aerial skills of Peter O’Mahony and Tadhg Beirne in particular.

Bear in mind that Buckley had to compose himself and reduce his heart rate to deliver a highly individualised skill on the back of a retreating scrum that would have put him under a lot of physical pressure. Yet, on every occasion, he took a few deep breaths, cleared his head, and executed with precision.

His journey to this point is noteworthy given the injury trauma suffered since captaining CBC to Munster Schools Senior Cup success in 2019. He’s come back from a double fibula and tibia leg fracture, followed by a full year of rehabilitation after tearing his hamstring off the bone, the same injury that finished Paul O’Connell’s career.

Having just recovered from that, Buckley suffered a serious knee injury last April but never contemplated throwing in the towel. A major factor in getting back up to speed in time for his impressive outing in Coventry was the fact that he featured in five All-Ireland League games for UCC since October. I’ve no doubt that, but for those games, Buckley wouldn’t have made anything like the impact he did on Sunday. Yet key personnel in the IRFU’s rugby department continue to look down their noses at this level of rugby.

Buckley wasn’t alone on that front. Another Munster debutant with the capacity to grace the Munster shirt for some time to come is full-back, Patrick Campbell. Fresh from sitting the leaving cert in PBC last June, Campbell took the difficult decision to sever his ties with Gaelic football and Nemo Rangers to link up with the Munster academy in Limerick.

Like Buckley, the former Cork minor star featured regularly for Young Munster in the early rounds of this season’s AIL, announcing himself with a magnificent try against my own club Cork Constitution in round 2. When we realised who had scored, a Cork man coming back to haunt his own, it felt even worse. Suffice to say his brilliant finish last Sunday was greeted with considerably more enthusiasm in our household.

Campbell is another exciting talent with the potential to light up Ireland’s U20 Six Nations campaign in the new year. With their home games being hosted once again at Musgrave Park, on the assumption he makes the cut, Campbell will receive a very warm welcome on his return.

Barely a year has passed since I first noticed the rugby prowess of Daniel Okeke, playing at No 8 on two separate occasions for Shannon U20s and subsequently their seconds in Temple Hill.

While he stood out, he didn’t look anywhere near ready to feature at Heineken Champions Cup level. His progress in the short time since then has been impressive. After an understandably nervous start, Okeke went on to have an outstanding game against Wasps with his pace and explosive carries a captivating feature. Once he learns to protect the ball better in contact, he is capable of adding to Munster’s growing stock of exciting young back row talent.

Gavin Coombes may have stolen a march on the emerging group but, behind him, another West Cork man and former U20 Grand Slam winner, John Hodnett, reminded all and sundry of what he has to offer.

He was exceptional when the pressure was at its greatest in the opening half hour against Wasps with his technical excellence at the breakdown a recurring feature. As a genuine open side, he is more than ready to compete for a regular starting position in that Munster back row.

When researching the team in advance of its announcement, I was reliably informed by a trusted source that academy second row Eoin O’Connor had bags of talent and was the real deal. His performance on Sunday, without grabbing any headlines, confirmed that.

His work rate was impressive throughout, constantly hitting rucks and cleaning out bodies while operating seamlessly in defence and at the set piece. With Thomas Ahern having already made his mark in the second row, Waterford have now delivered two towering locks with the skill set to contribute much to the Munster cause for some time to come.

With very little recent exposure at tight head prop, having moved across from the other side of the scrum, Bandon’s James French was always going to be tested. Despite coming under pressure in the set piece, he stuck to the task admirably while also playing his part in broken play.

This was a day all six starting European debutants will look back on and treasure for the rest of their playing days, regardless of what happens from here.

Like many before them, they knuckled down and gave everything they had to the cause. In doing so, they have inspired many young players scattered around the province that their dream of some day representing Munster may not be as far away as they think.

This time last year, Buckley received a special gift from his grandfather Dr Paddy Kiely. Part of a famous Cork medical and sporting family — his brother Dave was capped for Ireland in the back row — Paddy, a former Munster player himself was my first senior coach at UCC and was a highly influential figure.

Hoping to inspire his grandson to achieve his undoubted potential despite a crushing run of serious injuries, Kiely had his old Munster jersey framed. He presented it to Scott as a Christmas present. It proved inspirational.

I’m not sure what young Scott has in mind as a Christmas present for his granddad next week but I’ve no doubt that special No 2 red shirt he wore against Wasps last Sunday must be featuring prominently.