O’Leary ready for Leinster battle

TOMÁS O’LEARY is hoping to continue his comeback from injury by securing a starting place for Munster in Saturday’s eagerly-awaited Magners League clash with bitter rivals Leinster at the RDS.

O’Leary came through another test by playing a key role in Munster’s victory over Newport Gwent Dragons at Musgrave Park on Sunday, first full game since breaking an ankle back in April.

“It feels great to be back,” said O’Leary. “I’ve put the injury to the back of my mind at this stage. I’ve been going at it fairly full-on for the bones of six weeks now and it becomes less of an issue each day.”

O’Leary is looking forward to the meeting with Leinster “It’s a derby game, this game is huge. I just want to get into the starting squad.

“It doesn’t matter what team we put out these days, we expect to win. We have had a decent start to the season and we have to kick on from here. But, it’s going to be very tough against Leinster.”

Another happy Munster camper is Denis Hurley, who has put some indifferent form last season firmly behind him and has surged up the pecking order for selection not only against Leinster but for the forthcoming Heineken Cup clash against Northampton.

Hurley admitted Munster’s first-half display against the Dragons, wasn’t good enough.

“Thankfully, we picked up the pace in the second half, the forwards got some good quality ball and they gave us a nice platform. It’s always good to see the forwards firing because it makes the job easier for us guys.”

Hurley is happy with his own form. “I’ve had time to think about things and what I needed to work on; I’m just hoping what I’ve worked on (and the improvement made) will be enough to keep me in the side. Right now there is huge competition for places in the back-line, an onus on guys to play better and keep pushing for improvement.”

On the evidence of the win over the Dragons, there has been a huge improvement from Nick Williams, who has had a frustrating since arriving in Ireland. The injury-hit back rower scored a hat-trick of tries on Sunday and hopes the bad times are firmly behind him..

A relieved Williams remarked: “It was a long time coming. Most of the people had a lot of faith in me and I was just happy to repay some of that. It wasn’t just myself; the whole forward pack performed on the night, we weathered the storm in the opening half and drove on from there in the second. Our whole tight five played brilliantly on the night.”

Meanwhile, the Irish Rugby Football Union Disciplinary Panel will hold a hearing to consider a citing complaint against Connacht player Robbie Morris from the Connacht-Ulster Magners League game on September 25.

Morris has been cited for an alleged strike on Ulster player TJ Anderson. The hearing will take place in Dublin tonight. The panel will consist of David Martin (Chairman), Phil Orr and George Spotswood.