Berne ready to stake his claim
A summer signing from Bath, the Australian out-half-cum-centre has been a useful squad player thus far, standing in when the internationals were away or rested and riding the pine when the big names returned.
The cracked jaw suffered by Jonathan Sexton against Clermont Auvergne last weekend may change all that. The Dubliner is rated as 50-50 for the Heineken Cup semi-final in Toulouse on May 1 and Berne is the only other 10 in the squad.
“Injuries are part of the game,” said Berne. “I can’t play the game like Jonny Sexton. He plays the way he plays. I can try to fit into the Leinster team and play like Shaun Berne, try to bring my strengths to the team.
“We’re all hopeful Jonny can come back before the end of the season but it’s all up in the air at the moment. A few other guys have knocks. We have injuries there but any team at this stage of the season will have injuries.”
Berne may be no Jonny Sexton but, at 31 years of age, he brings a steady and experienced hand to the tiller after a career which has taken in a lengthy stint with the New South Wales Waratahs and two spells at Bath in the English Premiership.
He had 38 Super 12 games and 27 European appearances under his belt before pitching up in Dublin and a starting berth in a Heineken Cup game at Stade Toulousain would not exactly be new ground for him.
Only a last-minute David Skrela penalty deprived Bath of a win in the south of France in last season’s group stages and the sides battled out a 3-3 draw at The Rec in round six. Berne started both games, but as an inside centre rather than an out-half.
He endured a shaky start to the season with Leinster but has now appeared 16 times. Two of his starts came in December’s back-to-back European ties against Scarlets when Sexton was recovering from a broken finger. So what is it exactly that he brings to the table?
“Jonny is a very confident young lad. He kicks the ball a long way and he can do that well. He’s got good talk on the field and he’s become a real leader in this team for such a young guy. Being a bit older, I’d like to think I can bring that experience to the table and control the team as much as possible. It’s not just my job, it’s a 15-man game. There’s not too much weight on my shoulders. It’s just a matter of fitting in with the team and not upsetting the rhythm too much.”
Berne did that just fine prior to Christmas, aside from his place-kicking. At one point in the game against the Scarlets at the RDS, he missed four consecutive shots at the posts and similar statistics would be ruinous against Toulouse.
The last time he kicked for the senior side was on St Stephen’s Day against Ulster in Ballsbridge although he has been handling the duties with the ‘A’ side during the British and Irish Cup, which ran parallel to the Six Nations.
“We have a good kicking coach here in Richie (Murphy) who is working with all the boys. There’s a group of us here who are always kicking with Sexto. Fergus McFadden kicks the ball well, as does Isa Nacewa. So, the group is there and it just depends whose striking the ball well as to who steps up on that front and who is in the team that day.
“You know, I’m not afraid to step up and kick goals. I’ve done it for other teams I’ve played for. I did it at the start of the year. As you said, it probably wasn’t as high a standard as I’d like but going forward I’m happy to do that role if I’m required to. There are a few guys there, so we’ll see how it works out.”
Auditions open tomorrow against an Ospreys side that was unlucky to lose to Biarritz by a point in last week’s European quarter-finals before bouncing back on Tuesday night with a Magners League win over Ulster.
“They’re a strong team,” Berne cautioned. “Like Toulouse, across the paddock there aren’t many weaknesses there, if any, so it’s going to be a big game. We’ll just have to see. Friday night’s going to be tough.
“The Ospreys have a strong squad. They have depth there. Sonny Parker is going to step up there and (Andrew) Bishop played well at the weekend at outside centre, so they definitely have depth in numbers as well.”
* Ospreys physio Chris Towers last night confirmed Richard Hibbard will undergo surgery to repair knee ligament damage, ruling him out of the end of season Magners League run-in.
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