Donncha eyes home comforts

WHEN Donncha O’Callaghan strolled over for Munster’s third try in Treviso on Saturday, it revived memories of his famous score in the defeat of Leicester at Welford Road in 2006.

On that occasion, he did all the work himself after somehow emerging with the ball from a maul on the Tiger ten metre line and outpacing them all to the line.

This time, it was more of a team effort and the big second-row wasn’t about to compare the two scores.

“It was my first try since and it’s not good when the ref passes you out,” he quipped. “It’s always nice to score a try. It gives you a bit of a lift.”

And then he had a message for one or two of his team mates: “I think I gave the backs a lesson in going in under the posts.”

O’Callaghan attributed the excellent first-half performance to: “fellas’ mental frame of mind coming into the game. There was talk of coming over here for five points, but we were coming over here to win. Everyone was thinking about the next five minutes and that showed with Donnacha Ryan’s try at the end. We had talked about individuals stepping up today and I think everyone came with their game head on.”

O’Callaghan accepted the scoreboard might have flattered Munster a little although he pinpointed the value of what he regarded as “a high tempo, physical game” as they prepare for the visit of Northampton on Friday night. Although going along with a view that the scrum had stood up well to the test in Treviso, he also appreciated that it could be even tougher against the Saints.

“It’s something that will have to be on song because I know from the Lions tours how much their prop Euan Murray embraces the scrum,” said O’Callaghan. “That’s the thing about stuff like this, you get tested every week so you have to front up and the focus is entirely on Friday.”

He also argued that the drop-off in standard in the second-half was not down to the team taking their foot off the pedal.

“No, that wasn’t the case for the players,” he said. “We were a bit rusty but nobody was easing off because the job had been done. We have to look at the video and highlight the areas where we need to improve and Dumper (coach Tony McGahan) will be great at that.

“To get five points here was terrific because it keeps everything in our own hands. To get a Thomond Park quarter-final would be great when you see how much people have to pay to travel. It places a huge emphasis on the players. We need them all on Friday night in full voice.”

Meanwhile the great camaraderie of Munster teams over the decades is still clearly evident. That great attribute is best demonstrated by players in direct opposition supporting each other despite tussling for a first team berth. Take the example of Denis Fogarty and Damien Varley who are battling to fill the boots of the injured Jerry Flannery at hooker. Both men have helped to make light of Flannery’s absence because they have deputised so superbly andFogarty has revealed another reason for the good form.

“Damien has done extremely well in the last two games I wasn’t involved in. I just play my socks off for the first 60 minutes and he comes on and does an excellent job for the last 20. Also, we get on very well and work hard together.

“And when Jerry is back, we work together as a trio and again, we get on very well.”

He continued: “I’m happy because I’m taking my game forward every week. I struggled at the outset with my line-out throwing and needed consistency; I’m getting that now because I’ve been working hard over the past few weeks. Our ex-coach Brian Hickey has taken me under his wing and I was rewarded with the benefits of that Saturday.”

There were a few occasions when Treviso threatened Munster’s supremacy on Saturday and they came at a series of scrums close to the posts midway through the first-half. Another referee may have awarded Treviso a penalty try but Chris White saw things differently to the relief of Fogarty and his front-row colleagues.

“We knew if we concentrated at scrum time and stuck to our guns that we would hold them out,” he maintained. “They had done it against Northampton when they got a penalty try and that was in the back of our minds. That’s what they were going for – a penalty try or a pushover try.”

Fogarty was happy with the afternoon’s work. He agreed: “I think we did reasonably well at scrum time over the course of the game. The front-row duel is always tough against the Italians. Teams have struggled here in the scrum so we decided to take them on and take away their set piece because they are a big set piece team.

“The backs were outstanding and scored some great tries.”