Carney happy to have union chance
Barring injury, Ireland’s upcoming two-Test tour of Argentina, which begins on Saturday week in Sante Fe, should see the former Wigan and Great Britain rugby league star make his international bow in the union code.
Carney has been suffering from a hamstring injury, which saw him sit out Munster’s final Magners League match last Saturday against Glasgow, but he is confident of being fit for the first Test.
“I am feeling pretty good concerning my damaged hamstring. There is a very good medical team here (in the Ireland set-up). Of course, any injury is a concern but I hope to get it right for the Test.”
Just two months since his transfer to Munster, he admitted: “The transition from league to union is a bit difficult. I realise and appreciate how much I have to learn in rugby union.
“They are two very different games. Fortunately, it is easier for an outside back to adapt than it would be for anybody else.
“I am aware of how much I’ve got to learn. Having played union when I was younger, it’s not totally unfamiliar to me. There are intricacies that you are not aware of when you’re a schoolboy that you become aware of when you get older and more experienced.”
With the Rugby World Cup less than four months away, Carney was asked if winning a place in the Ireland side for the tournament would be his ultimate goal. “No. My ultimate goal is to make the transition from league to union and be a success at it,” he added. “Success for me would be if, at the end of my career, I can look back and say I was a good union player.
“To come to Munster and into a team who were European champions was nice. Munster have several internationals in their squad and it gave me a feel early on of what levels of professionalism are expected from me.”
For the tour to Argentina, the 30-year-old hopes “to develop as a player in an environment where I will have to do that pretty quickly."
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