Coughlan finally getting his rewards

JAMES COUGHLAN has travelled a long and frustrating road before finally realising the early potential he displayed with CBC and Dolphin.

Coughlan is now 29 and though a contracted Munster player for the past four years, it often looked like he was a peripheral figure when the biggest days came around for a team with a wealth of talent in the back-row department.

Coughlan shone during his time at Christians and represented Irish Schools but he failed to build on those achievements and spent much of his early 20s on AIL Division Two duty with the Cork club.

However, Declan Kidney hadn’t forgotten his talents and he was brought into the Munster fold for the start of the 2007 campaign. At last he has had his rewards, staking a strong claim for a starting place in next week’s Heineken Cup semi-final against Biarritz with impressive performances against Northampton and Connacht in recent weeks.

His physicality and presence of mind were extremely impressive aspects of his game against the Saints while the manner in which he dealt with a number of Connacht restarts in Galway on Sunday was similar in style to Denis Leamy, whose serious knee injury has helped to open the door for Coughlan. He had very good reason to be happy with the elder statesman role he performed to perfection in an inexperienced side at the Sportsground.

“There were a lot of new caps out there and it was a massive game for us in terms of the season,” he said.

“A lot of the young fellas stepped up big time. It just shows the quality that’s there. Many of them are playing with the A team all season and they’ve gone unbeaten. We showed a lot of grit and determination and that was the main thing.”

Coughlan isn’t one for seeking the limelight, preferring to lavish praise on players like Danny Barnes, Simon Zebo and Declan Cusack, who made their senior debuts on Sunday, and others such as highly impressive try scorer Scott Deasy and prop Dave Ryan.

“It has been a huge eight days for me,” he agrees, when pressed to speak about his own contribution. “I’m just trying to keep the head down and stick to the rugby and try and avoid all the distractions around the place. But, yes, it’s fantastic and what we’ve all been working for.

“It’s a string of games and the more of that you get, the more you grow into the systems instead of being a loose cannon, coming in for 20 minutes and trying to do everything. When you’re getting a start, you can settle into your role and just do your job and know that the other 14 lads are going to do their jobs.”

Coughlan recounted how he received a text from injured team-mate Hurley shortly after the final whistle on Sunday. “He summed it up when saying that’s what playing for Munster is all about. It doesn’t matter what 15 is out there. Once you’re in the jersey, it’s up to you to stand up and make what you can of it. The young fellas especially showed that. Dave Ryan had his first start, Peter O’Mahoney and Dave Foley came on. They’re in crucial positions and put their hands up. All the lads were determined and I think it showed in the last few minutes when we managed to hold them out. I don’t think you could pick a man of the match from our side because everyone put their hands up,” he argued.

“We turned over a lot of Connacht ball in the first half. The early score after half-time was crucial. It was good, fast, honest rugby with terrific tries and it was great to be involved. Micko (Driscoll) and myself, a couple of the older guys, were saying it’s great to see lads doing that. The more lads coming through, the more they can drive on the older fellas.”