Triple crown the target for Ireland’s Number One

THERE was a time, not long ago, when Marcus Horan must have wondered why he bothered to pursue a rugby career with Munster.

The redoubtable Peter Clohessy was firmly installed as loosehead prop not just with the province, but also Ireland, and there was little sign of that changing as a new millennium came and went.

Fortunately Horan, the former St Munchin’s College man from Clonlara, Co Clare, was prepared to bide his time. The day finally came when even the “Claw” had to call it a day. Horan was ready to take over a formidable mantle at Munster. He then had to wait another couple of years before unseating Reggie Corrigan with Ireland.

On Saturday, he plays his 54th game for Ireland against Scotland. The number one jersey for Munster and Ireland is now as secure in his possession as it once was with Clohessy.

If Marcus Horan suffers any sleepless nights these days, it’s only because the recently arrived Heather may be having the odd restless moment. There’s no reason why he should worry about where his rugby career has taken him — except to energise himself into believing he can capture a fourth Triple Crown and a second Heineken Cup before season’s end.

“We lost the game against France but I got around the park, got involved in a lot of things and so it’s a funny thing to say that you enjoyed a game that you lost,” he says. “But it gives you a hunger to play again the next day. The scrum went well for us from the start. We were in a tough group in the World Cup and up against strong front-row opposition so far in the Six Nations and that stood to us in Paris.”

Horan dismisses claims that there was an issue with the Irish scrum over the years: “That was just criticism from the press and stuff. Still, we can’t fall in love with ourselves either. There was another penalty try on the cards in Paris and we fluffed that so we’ve got to be more clinical. Training has been good. You can’t beat that bit of live scrummaging instead of just hitting a machine as well as coming up against some of the best scrummagers in the world on match day. We can’t sit back on our laurels. We have to keep building on it and using it as a weapon.”

Horan and mate John Hayes pack down with their third Irish hooker within a year but he insists the area “has gone so technical that we know each other’s ways and it’s not a huge issue.” Furthermore, he is happy to have another Munster colleague, Mick O’Driscoll, behind him in the set pieces.

“Micko has been going really well with Munster and I suppose was unfortunate to be only on the bench up to now with Ireland. Any time he has come on, he has made a great impact. I know he’s chomping at the bit and the two boys in the second-row are used to each other. Now Paul O’Connell is coming back and that’s great, too. Frustration is a word Paulie’s been using a lot and now he’s delighted to have a few games under his belt with the chance of a trot out on Saturday”.

Marcus dismisses a suggestion that he might have been irked at having to play an AIL game with Shannon earlier this season, claiming that “it was a request from me because I had been left out by Munster and felt I needed a game if I was to be in contention for the European Cup the following week. I was only delighted that Gaillimh (Mick Galwey, the Shannon coach) took me on that day. It was all the better because it was a derby match in Limerick so the quality of the game was good and the atmosphere was great.

“I really enjoyed it and it brought me back to my roots. It gave me a lesson in what it’s all about — when you see guys grafting at club level, you get to appreciate things a lot more. It’s great for the individual to go back to his club and it’s also great for the club to have guys like that back. I’d always like to keep my ties with Shannon, they’re doing really well and it’s a great club.”

It’s always nice to know that international stars don’t forget where they came from. But isn’t he a little uneasy when a full-time professional prop like himself, who trains every day of the week, comes up against an amateur who probably puts in a couple of hours on the paddock every Tuesday and Thursday night and does precious little else? Is this not dangerous, is it not asking for trouble?

“It’s a good question,” he agrees. “That particular day, the individual I was up against (Declan Lavery, a young prop from Garryowen) had a tough time. But when I started out, I was coming up against guys like Paco (John Fitzgerald of Young Munster and Ireland) and Peter Clohessy and a few more. Whether you have a good day or a bad day against them, you will always learn from it.

“I spoke to the guy and his coach after the game and any pointers I could pass on, I tried to do so. You learn from tough days and God knows I had a few of them myself. I could quote a few smart comments from junior props I was up against who didn’t think I was a prop at all. It could be bad for a guy’s career if things go badly but you build on the positives and learn from days like that.

“The individual that day is a pretty strong player and we’ll see him play at a higher level in the future.”