Looking to unleash some frustration

RAW POWER, pure brawn, a force of nature — all have been used to describe Irish backrow forward Denis Leamy, wordsmiths of varying levels of ability attempting to describe the destructive capacity of this favoured son of Boherlahan.

None, however, can do him justice, none can prepare the opposition for the venom behind the bruising, bone-crushing hit, for the bear-like hands ripping in, clawing the ball free for yet another invaluable turnover. But hang on, you say, what’s so special about Leamy? Aren’t all forwards big men these days, strong and powerful? It’s true, in the Irish pack to take on Scotland in Murrayfield today you have the twin-towering Paul O’Connell and Donncha O’Callaghan in the second row, you have the bulk of Hayes and Horan propping the might of Best in the scrum, you have the near-unstoppable leg-drive of the explosive David Wallace in the back row, across from the “crash em, bash em” contact-loving Stephen Ferris.

But even among these behemoths, Denis Leamy stands apart.

Like all his intentional contemporaries his power is now gym-honed; like his team-mate John Hayes, however, most of the Leamy muscle is natural, and even had he never turned his hand from hurling — his first love — to rugby, he would still have made a national impression. Imagine it, this summer in Thurles, the Rock of Cashel up against the Rock of Cloyne, Leamy on Diarmuid O’Sullivan as Tipp face Cork in the Munster championship.

A turn in the road however, a visit to his local rugby club in nearby Cashel with his brothers Ed and Kevin, means that instead of following his original heroes Nicky English and Pat Fox to Semple Stadium, Denis will today trot out in Murrayfield alongside his current hero, John Hayes.

So what can the Scots expect? What frustration there must be now for Denis to release, what temptation to just hit everything that moves after a season of waiting. “I try to keep it under lock and key. Sometimes you do get involved down in the provinces, a bit of contact, and that’s always a good way to release some frustration. Possibly when I was younger I would have taken it out on somebody, but you try and lock that away until it’s needed. Saturday would be a good day to bring it out.”

Funny thing is, Denis shouldn’t even be near this squad today, never mind a starting berth. Having done all the rehab to get back after his shoulder injury, Denis started against the All-Blacks for Munster in that famous match back in November, but was forced off after just 25 minutes, the shoulder again; rehabbed again, returned, then another sickener — injured again in his first match back, against Llanelli in the Magners League, cruciate ligament. That should have signalled the end of his season, but a consultation with surgeon Ray Moran gave hope, the knife was spared, and another six weeks of lonely work saw him back in contention, work for which he gives fulsome thanks to Brian Greene, the Irish team physio.

“Initially I would have been delighted coming back just to get on the bench, but then when you’re on the bench, you automatically want more. Sitting on the bench is very frustrating; I haven’t done a lot of it, not for a long time, and I’d forgotten how frustrating it is. You’re on the bench, you’re trying not to get overhyped. Then suddenly you’re on, you’re a bit cold, and you’re trying to snap into game-mode straight away. With those 10 or 15 minutes you’re given, it’s always difficult to try and get into a game because it can just pass you by.”

Well, he’s certainly made the most of those minutes in this Six Nations, against England at Croke Park last time out especially, when a tiring visiting pack felt the full force of his frustration. That, plus a full 80 minutes in dire conditions in the away win over the Dragons last weekend, has convinced coach Declan Kidney that Leamy is now ready to resume at the top level.

He’ll have his hands full of course. This Scottish pack is powerful, big Nathan Hines is back in the mix, Jim Hamilton returns to the second row alongside hard-hitting Jason White, there’s also Alasdair Strokosch, Simon Taylor, and these, along with a massive front-row, has the home team anticipating parity, at least, in the tight.

“We’ve struggled for the last couple of years with their physicality. They’ve never made it very easy for us at the breakdown, to compete for ball — that’s always been an issue. Obviously their line-out is going to be very good with four or five very tall men who are good targets, winning primary ball isn’t really a problem (for them). Blair (Mike, scrum-half) dictates well around the fringes and he’s a danger man there. He really runs the show for them, does a lot of talking and brings players into the game.”

It could all come down to balance, in the end, and on that score Ireland look just that bit better equipped, in the back-row especially. All three are grafters but where David Wallace is exceptional as a ball-carrying seven, Stephen Ferris renowned for his massive hits, Denis Leamy is like a cross between the two — big hitter but ball-hungry. As a former all-action goal-kicking number eight with Rockwell College, above all Denis just loves to get his hands on the ball. If the opposition have it, he wants it back, now, and few better equipped to rip it away; if it’s Ireland’s ball, and the hard yards are to be made, few better.

In familiar GAA parlance, Ireland are left with a semi-final and a final to win the Grand Slam, this game against Scotland followed by the game away to Wales; that too is how Denis sees it. “I can appreciate that, it makes perfect sense, and semi-finals are notoriously difficult. It’s going to be hard, but I’d hope that myself and the other three lads brought back in will bring a freshness and an exuberance to it. The guys have had three tough games. I wouldn’t suggest they’re tired but maybe we can give them the extra spark to make the difference.”