Reds’ only goal is victory, insists O’Leary

WHEN most were floundering in the face of unbelievable Leinster physicality, one Munster man held his nerve at the RDS last Saturday night.

As the men in red trooped off dejected, Tomás O’Leary had one small consolation. At least he had performed to the high standards he had set himself over the previous few years and looked very much the Lion he would have been had a serious and ill-timed injury not intervened.

O’Leary, who celebrates his 26th birthday in 12 days, has become an integral part of the Munster side since making his scrum-half debut in the Heineken Cup against Gloucester at Kingsholm in 2008. And now, after the debacle of the RDS, he fully realises the need for a big result this evening at Franklin’s Gardens, otherwise Munster’s season will be in crisis almost before it has begun.

“I don’t think it matters how much we win it by or what style we win it in,” he stresses. “Our only goal is to go over there and win. We just have to be confident going into the game. The buzz has been good at training and we’re not going to have the heads down dwelling on what happened last week.”

Munster have studied different footage of different Northampton matches in the English Premiership — in which they currently stand fourth — and appreciate they are facing a very sticky proposition.

“They’re a very formidable side,” says O’Leary of last year’s European Challenge Cup champions. “Their home record is great. They only lost one game at Franklin’s Gardens last year in the league. They have a good pack, very good half-backs and big runners coming in off the wings hitting the line at pace.

“Obviously, (Shane) Geraghty at 10 will be a key player as will Lee Dickson at nine and the majority of the play will go through them. Their captain (Dylan) Hartley at two is another key man so we can’t afford to concentrate on any one player and have to be aware of all their threats. When they get their game going, they are impressive so we have to prevent them from getting quick, go-forward ball.”

The philosophical manner in which O’Leary accepted the injury at the back end of last season — costing him his a Heineken Cup climax and a Lions tour of South Africa — is nothing short of remarkable. Missing out on the experience of a lifetime to the land of the Springbok hurt deeply but, less than six months on, he insists he has more or less forgotten about it. The future is all that concerns him.

“I feel good now that I have a few matches under my belt”, he says. “While I know I’m coming off the back of a major injury, it doesn’t enter my thinking once I get out on the pitch. It’s a case of getting the injury out of my mind, especially when I’m playing. I’m just trying to get my sharpness back and the last few games have been very good in that respect.

“I’m well over the disappointment of missing the Lions trip. With so much going on here, there’s a lot else to occupy your mind.”

What hasn’t been so easy to get over was the total eclipse of the side a week ago in Dublin 4. Today’s game will prove whether it was a temporary blip or something a lot more deep rooted.

“None of us played well,” O’Leary agrees. “Leinster beat us up. But we’ve addressed that now and there’s no point dwelling on it. Getting off to a winning start in the European Cup is paramount to our season so Saturday is what it’s all about. We can’t afford to look back. Of course there are lessons to be learned. But there are lessons to be learned from every game you play.

“Our pack is very good and we’re still a very good team. We didn’t play well last week and we want to put that right. We’ll miss Hayes but Mushy (Tony Buckley) is a great player, getting his chance and I’m confident he will take it. Hopefully, we’re not a squad that relies on any one player. We’ve 30 or 40 players capable of filling in.

“It applies to every position, including my own. If you’re looking over your shoulder to see what the other fellow is doing, you’re not going to do yourself justice. If you get picked, you get picked, if not, you just try harder.”

It’s the kind of spirit you suspect Tomas O’Leary will demonstrate in spades in helping to carry Munster over the line at Franklin’s Gardens this evening.