Munster give Kidney grounds for optimism

THE signs of a physical, hard-hitting match against the USA Eagles were visible as Munster went for a mid-morning conditioning session with head of fitness, Paul Derbyshire, on the shores of Lake Michigan yesterday.

Prop Tony Buckley sported a swollen right eye, Anthony Foley was nursing stitches under his chin, while Denis Hurley, on crutches, will undergo a scan on a twisted ankle upon his return to Ireland today.

The wounds after a good ‘hit-out’ — as the Yanks like to call it — will heal but the glow of satisfaction waspalpable amongst the entire Munster party, who later in the evening bade farewell to five great days in the Windy City. They won’t get carried away after lifting the inaugural Setanta Sports Challenge Cup on Sunday, but there are reasons to be optimistic ahead of the coming season.

Declan Kidney returns to Ireland buoyed by the enthusiasm demonstrated by his new caps and the younger players in his squad. Summer arrivals, Niall Ronan, Kieran Lewis and Paul Warwick impressed, but the energy and vigour shown by Donnacha Ryan, who put in a colossal 80 minutes, and by Darragh Hurley, who looks like he won’t suffer from second season syndrome, was hugely encouraging. Signs also that Munster will have real strength in depth to challenge for both the Magners League and the Heineken Cup.

The result was all the moreencouraging for Kidney for it came against a first-choice USA team asopposed to a Munster side minus its Ireland contingent.

“It was a great opportunity for the younger players to show themselves on a big stage and, in fairness to them, that’s what they did,” said Kidney.

“A lot of what we do in Munster is by design, and to bring younger players through. Darragh Hurley, Tony Buckley and Denis (Fogarty) showed great promise in the front row, Donnacha Ryan, Niall Ronan, Jerry Hurley also. Lifeimi (Mafi) is playing better, Kieran (Lewis) came in for his first game, and all are at a good age now to step up to this level.

“It was a one-off match — we had nothing to lose, but a lot to gain. Hopefully it will give us confidence. I think these fellows are hopefully going to make it difficult for the boys that come back from the World Cup and that will only strengthen the squad.”

The fitness of the Munster team was another stand-out feature in victory, a point noted by the small American media contingent at Toyota Park on Sunday. Under intense heat andhumidity, Munster didn’t tire in thefinal 15 minutes, a point Kidneyacknowledged and one he attributed to the work of the conditioning staff.

“What pleased me most was our mental toughness and that we stayed the pace with it. The heat was ferocious — I can’t imagine the weight some of the players lost.”

Still Kidney admitted the game swung in Munster’s favour because it was a game between a professionaloutfit and a national side comprised mainly of amateurs holding down day jobs.

“There was a little differencebetween professionalism and amateurs where we managed to stay the pace. I don’t think that should be overlooked. We have the benefit of coming from a professional background.”

Anthony Foley showed all hisexperience in guiding the younger players through a sometimes bruisingencounter, saying “there were a lot of big hits, a lot of muscle out there”.

He added: “We feel we prepared very well in pre-season and that was a testament to the work done at home by the fitness team. They’ve got us into shape so we can last in theseconditions. Hopefully, when the season proper kicks off in September, we’re ready to fire.”

Foley said that Munster have their goals this season, and Sunday’s win was a nice boost ahead of a long season.

“Beating an international team, who are going into a big competition, away from home is always nice. We have our goals. The win gives us a great high, to start off the season getting a victory like that here in those conditions.

“We’re quietly optimistic ahead of the season, but we’re not going over the top. We’ve a lot of very goodplayers, and a lot of good players who didn’t make this trip. So it’s just amatter of enjoying this and that when we come out against Saracens (September 7) we don’t go backwards. We must go forward from here andinto the start of the season.”