Boost for Ireland as Flannery returns to action

JERRY FLANNERY has given Ireland coach Declan Kidney a timely boost ahead of the RBS Six Nations by confirming his availability for the holders’ opening assignment against Italy at Croke Park on February 6.

The Munster hooker successfully came through 40 minutes of club rugby for Shannon in their All-Ireland League win over UL Bohemian at Thomond Park on Saturday.

Flannery reckons he’ll be fighting fit for Irish duty, provided his achilles injury does not react adversely to his first portion of game-time since Ireland’s Autumn internationals victory over South Africa last November.

“It was good to get through it, but getting a win was the main thing,” he said. “Forty minutes was all the Munster management wanted me to play, because this is my first week back with rugby. I trained with Munster last Tuesday and had a little run-out with Shannon on Thursday, so they wanted to limit it to a half and see how it reacts.

“I think I should be available (for Ireland) having come through this. We have the Irish camp now this week, there’s an A game as well – we’ll see how it goes.”

In the latest of a series of setbacks over the past 12 months, the 34-times capped hooker required surgery on the achilles problem, and was initially thought to be a doubt for the Six Nations.

However, he was named inKidney’s 44-strong squad, along with his usual rival for the starting berth, Rory Best, who returned forBanbridge in the AIB All-Ireland League on Saturday following aserious neck injury.

Flannery – who was named in the Lions squad last year, only to be subsequently ruled out by an arm injury – spoke of the relief of getting back into a match-day routine, on his first appearance in Shannon colours since a 2007 appearance against UCD, when he was also seeking to regain fitness in time for the Six Nations.

“I’m the same as everyone, you just want to get a game at the weekend, so you have a normal week,” he said.

“For seven weeks there previously, it was just running all the time, then icing the leg and seeing how it reacts. It’s like a seven-day week, where instead of taking the weekend off and playing a game, you’re just trying to give it as much time to recover as you can. You want to be training towards playing.”

Flannery was an interested spectator at Thomond Park on Friday night, looking on as both Denis Fogarty and Damien Varley filled the hooking berth in a nervy 12-9 win over Northampton which secured a quarter-final berth for a 12th successive season.

Referee Romain Poite’s interpretation of the breakdown was a source of major frustration for Munster, and the Frenchman will also be the man in the middle when Kidney’s men get their title defence underway against the Azzurri. Nonetheless, Flannery says Ireland won’t be singling him out for any special attention beyond their usual analysis of officials.

“I enjoyed the game, neither side really got to show what they could do by opening it up, but it’s a good result for Munster,” he said.

“(Regarding the referee), every time we play with Ireland there’ll be quite a lot of analysis on the ref, what his hard calls are and all that – we’ll look to analyse that, play him, and keep him on our side.”

There was further good news for Kidney, as Ireland prop Marcus Horan’s rehabilitation continued with a full 80 minutes for his club for a second successive weekend. Horan also saw game-time for Munster on Friday, and was joined in the Shannon pack by provincial colleague Donnacha Ryan.