Defiant Horan plotting Thomond atonement

MARCUS HORAN’S ninth Heineken Cup try for Munster in his 50th start for the province at Stade Marcel Michelin last Sunday might never have happened.

He was so unwell two nights before the game that he didn’t sleep a wink and spent much of the time in the bathroom. He didn’t feel a whole lot better the following morning and very nearly got sick again on his way to meet up with his team-mates. He felt so poorly he didn’t feel like getting on the plane but coach Tony McGahan decided he should make the journey anyway.

“I went straight to bed on arrival and slept nearly all the way through,” he says. “I felt great in the morning but as the game went on, I faded badly. I hadn’t eaten in 24 hours which isn’t good going into a game like that but I got through as much as I could.”