Prop Healy primed to face Munster

CIAN HEALY is still learning his trade, but the Leinster loose head prop wants to keep the Irish pot boiling as his side go in search of Magners League and Heineken Cup honours.

The bulky youngster admits to having been a frustrated sideline “supporter” these last couple of weeks, as he watched some Leinster colleagues head for international glory.

It has stirred something within, and Healy might have taken a line from the Declan Kidney School of coaching when he described the forthcoming league fixture against the Heineken Cup holders in Limerick.

“We will look at the game against Ulster (32-6 win), see what we did right and wrong, but there will be different tactics against Munster.

“We are fairly happy. The dressing room was fine; we went out just to win the match but it was better than that.

“At times, it was heading towards being frantic but we tried our best to keep things cool; it was one of those games that didn’t have a particular pattern to it. Ultimately, things worked out well for us.

“We had a lot of gas left in us coming off the field at half time. We went in and spoke about the possibility of opening up the game, trying our best; in the end, it worked out for us.”

With Irish captain Brian O’Driscoll accepting the plaudits of the crowd in advance of kick off, along with Luke Fitzgerald, Rob Kearney and Jamie Heaslip, the five points were achieved despite their absence.

“That bonus point was massively important to us; at the moment we’re chasing Munster at the top of the table, and we needed that extra point.”

Healy knows Saturday’s clash could be their most crucial game all season.

“We need to win every game from this point on; at this stage there is no room for mistakes, for losing any game. It would be nice to set down a marker against Munster next week for a possible Heineken Cup semi final, but we can’t think about that right now; we have a huge game away to Harlequins and all these games will have to be taken in isolation.”

For now, Healy is only looking to the task in hand — to a personal confrontation against either John Hayes or Tony Buckley.

Either way, he reckons, he will have his hands full.

“I just want to get a chance to scrum against either of them because that will be a big moment for me.”

Meanwhile Ulster have signed blind-side flanker Tamaiti Horua from Super 14 side Western Forces in a two-year deal. The 26-year-old, who was born in New Zealand and raised in Melbourne, will join Ulster in the summer.

Horua has won 42 Super 12/14 caps since making his professional debut with Australian side Brumbies in 2002.

Horua captained the Australian U21 side, has played for Australia A and can also play at number eight.