Varley puts down a marker

MUNSTER re-energised their Magners League challenge with the five-pointer against Connacht on Saturday when a basically second strength side ran out 35-3 winners.

It was performances like that which earned them the league title last year when, as always, the senior international players missed large swathes of the season.

As Paul Warwick pointed out at the weekend, “we are blessed with the strength of our squad” and that is even more the case now as a series of impressive and consistent displays have seen Damien Varley arrive on the scene as a serious option at hooker. With Jerry Flannery a regular injury victim, considerable onus has fallen on the shoulders of Denis Fogarty and it is vital Varley has arrived to help carry the load.