Sheahan relishes return to action

A NUMBER of front line Munster, Ulster and Leinster players would dearly love a short break from competitive rugby right now.

They’ve been through a whole series of big matches, the November internationals and the Heineken Cup in December followed immediately by an intensive programme of Magners League matches.

That is why Declan Kidney rested so many key men against Connacht on New Year’s Eve before introducing a quartet of stars at the start of the second half that turned the game in his side’s favour. In the thick of it from start to finish, however, was Frankie Sheahan and he has his own good reasons for not wanting to miss a single second of the action.

“It’s tough for other guys but for me it’s a piece of cake,” he says with a wide grin. “You must remember that this time last year, I was sitting on the sidelines and wondering if I’d ever play again. Now I’m hungry as hell for rugby and I hope I’m playing again the next day.”

He’ll have that opportunity on Friday night next when Munster take on the Newport Welsh Dragons at Rodney Parade in front of the Setanta Sports cameras. It represents Munster’s third game in nine days and Kidney acknowledges that he’ll have to indulge once again in a “mix and match” operation as best he can.

His hands are also tied by the absence of long-term injury victims Anthony Foley, Jerry Flannery, Mick O’Driscoll, Anthony Horgan and Marcus Horan and the suspension of Alan Quinlan, whose appeal against the ERC ban will be heard tomorrow.

Kidney strongly defended the starting line-up he fielded in Galway, pointing out that: “Everybody wants to see the younger fellows get a go and I thought they did well in the first half. That match in lots of ways was a bit of a lottery because of the weather conditions. I have no regrets. The same team can’t play week in, week out.”

Sunday’s result has pushed Munster six points ahead of Connacht in the league table with a game in hand and they now look a good bet to clinch the third Heineken Cup place for next season, leaving Michael Bradley’s men intent on pipping the Dragons and Borders for a play-off place. Kidney allows that: “It doesn’t mean we have qualified for Europe but we have taken a lot of steps in the right direction.”

He was particularly pleased with the performances in Galway of Tomas O’Leary, Christian Cullen, James Coughlan and John O’Sullivan, while also picking out the likes of Sheahan and Donncha O’Callaghan for the way they performed in their second full match in five days. However, he added that asking them to play three matches in 10 days was another matter.

“That wouldn’t be right for a fellow’s career at this stage of the season, especially for guys going on to play in the Six Nations,” he said.

“We’ll see who turns up on Tuesday in the best possible condition. We’re training in tough conditions and playing in tough conditions and that has an effect on people’s health. We must keep them healthy as well as keep them fit. Of the injured players, Anthony Foley probably has the best chance of being available on Friday. Jerry Flannery is over his shoulder trouble but has now picked up a hamstring strain and Marcus Horan and Mick O’Driscoll may have to wait another couple of weeks.”

There was a remarkable contrast between Munster’s first half performance in Galway and what happened once Paul O’Connell, John Hayes, Ronan O’Gara and Trevor Halstead were brought into the fray.

Sheahan pointed out: “There were a lot of new combinations and new guys coming in. Sometimes it’s easier to defend than to attack, especially when you have new combinations. I thought the guys did well in the first half and we were leading 6-3 at the break. We tired them out and that’s something we saw in the Leinster game as well. We were losing 11-10 at half time but the damage was done at that point because they were more tired than we were.

“In fairness to Connacht, they’re a very good side and we just snuck that try in the corner and it could be argued that we were lucky to get it.”

That’s as maybe; how referee David Keane allowed the Connacht try mystified more than Munster people in the Sportsground, Sheahan among them.

He noted: “All I heard was John Fogarty screaming in the background because he was unhappy with his throw and all of a sudden there seemed to be a try. It was about four yards crooked. I can’t work it out at all. It was a poor decision, full stop. But sometimes that’s the way it goes. You’ve got to play the whistle and we didn’t and it ended up a try.”

Munster have now edged their way up to fifth place in the Magners League table on 25 points, still 10 behind pace setters Ulster and seven adrift of Leinster in second spot. There is still an outside chance that they could make up the ground and when the front line players are unavailable once the Six Nations gets under way in early February the true quality of the squad will become apparent.

This week Munster travel to the Dragons and Ulster to Glasgow while Leinster take on Llanelli Scarlets (fourth at present on 28 points but with three games in hand on the Irish sides) at Donnybrook.