Injury woe for Kelly as Quinlan stakes claim
Munster centre John Kelly, voted man-of-the-match after an all-action two-try display in the Celtic League win over Cardiff at Thomond Park on Saturday, was forced to retire in the 71st minute clutching his left shoulder.
Given that the Corkman had only recently returned to action having injuring his shoulder earlier this year, the signs were ominous.
“Same shoulder,” said Munster coach Declan Kidney. “Ireland are meeting up tomorrow night, they made a suggestion that he should play today, get some game time, because if he didn’t feature in the earlier matches on the tour (to New Zealand) he could have gone four or five weeks without a game, and that’s too long.
“Unfortunately, he fell on the same shoulder, in the same way. We’ll have to get it scanned and assessed over the next 48 hours.”
Kelly did mount the steps after the match as the full squad were introduced to a packed attendance but, didn’t look at all comfortable.
Better news for the Ireland coach, however, on Alan Quinlan. Playing his first full game in nearly seven months, Quinlan gave a typical barnstorming performance in his old number 6 shirt, with Denis Leamy shifted to openside. With a position held open in the backrow, Quinlan will surely have done enough to book his passage Down Under. The Tipperary man isn’t counting his chickens just yet, however.
“I haven’t heard anything official yet, I’ll be having a chat with the lads tomorrow, see the medics, see how the knee held up after 80 minutes. I enjoyed the game but my match fitness is still a bit off. This was the first time I’ve played 80 minutes since I came back; I struggled a bit at times but I enjoyed most of the game, got a bit of confidence back. It’s a little bit stiff and sore now, we’ll see how it is tomorrow, but I’d be optimistic.”
First full 80 or not, Quinlan wasn’t holding back.
“You never hold back when you play in a Munster jersey, and I was just delighted to be back. It’s been a really hard season for me yet again, missed most of the big Munster games, the Irish games as well, and things had been going so well for me at the start of the season. I dug in there, trained really hard, then got the injury; I got a lot of support from all the medical team in Munster, all the players. I was just determined to get back, count myself very lucky that I did in time for the final. That was fantastic for me.”
First challenge now for Quinlan will be to take that number 6 jersey off fellow Tipp man Leamy.
“True, but that’s the way it should be, it’s always tough to get on a Munster team. We all want to get better, improve every year, it’s always going to be hard to get on. I’m just happy to get back tonight and get an opportunity to start, I’m very proud to play for Munster, every time I put on the jersey. Hopefully I can get a run without an injury, enjoy the last few years of my career, three, four, maybe less.”
A first win for Ireland against the All-Blacks would be a nice way to start that final phase. “I haven’t looked too far beyond tonight, I was a bit stressed all week about playing the full 80 minutes, a bit nervous. It’s a long time out from rugby, nearly seven months, so I wasn’t really looking too far ahead. If I go on tour, obviously I’ll be doing my best, but it’s a huge challenge to go to New Zealand, a challenge everyone would like to have.
“Everyone wants to play against the best, and they’re a fantastic team. It’s not just the starting 15, they have 50, 60 players who could play for the All-Blacks. It’s a major challenge for Ireland. If you go to New Zealand, as Brian O’Driscoll said during the week, you’d be hoping they don’t play to their potential and we do, to give us a chance of winning.”
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