McGahan irked by IRFU
McGahan was unimpressed that only Keith Earls has been given the green light by Declan Kidney and company for the game with confirmation of his availability coming late on Sunday night.
“They haven’t been generous to us at all,” the Munster coach said of the national setup.
“When you’re playing on Tuesday night, you have to make decisions and let the group know at least 48 hours before the game instead of being rushed into giving those details this morning. Keith is the only player released.
“Am I annoyed? Yes. But that’s the way it is. But the Australians have been training in a limited capacity as well.”
While understanding McGahan’s frustration, his selection is a good blend of experience and youth and it gives him the opportunity to give up and coming forwards like Ian Nagle, Billy Holland and Peter O’Mahony their head. They represent the future of the game in the province along with scrum-half Duncan Williams and all will benefit from the presence of seasoned campaigners like Niall Ronan, James Coughlan (who captains the side), the two overseas props Wian du Preez and Peter Borlase along with Paul Warwick and Doug Howlett. On top of that, Sam Tuitupou returns after suspension in the centre and Johne Murphy starts in his favourite position of full-back.
It is an amazing debut for New Zealander Borlase who arrived in Ireland five days ago. The tight head prop goes straight into the front-row with his morale sky high having played a key role in Canterbury’s recent victory in the ITM New Zealand Provincial Championship. He started each of their matches and was also a regular with the Crusaders in the Super 14 tournament. The 25 year-old, 6 ft 4 inch, 17 stone Christchurch native has joined Munster on a two year special project with the possibility of qualifying for Ireland in the future. He has not yet been registered to play in the Heineken Cup but Borlase’s arrival could not have been better timed given the absence of many of Munster’s leading players due to injury and international duties.
“Peter Borlase is fresh off the ITM winning team and we were anxious to assimilate him as quickly as possible and what better way than getting stuck in and playing”, said McGahan. “We need to see where he is at with regard to nomination for the Heineken Cup and to give him every opportunity. For that to happen, somebody else would have to be taken out of the squad and that could be a prop, a hooker, a centre, we’ll have to wait and see.”
Many shrewd judges believe that Williams is an Irish scrum-half in the making and he could well be knocking on the door with an impressive display tonight.
“Duncan has been playing tremendously well but unfortunately he has been curtailed by injury and that hasn’t allowed him to bring his AIL form into the Magners League and push his case”, said McGahan.
“So every step he makes forward, he goes back again. In the A games, in his club games and in his time with Munster, he has shown the required capabilities of playing at this level.
“It’s good to have Keith Earls back. He only played six minutes against South Africa and not at all against Samoa. He’s fit and raring to go and we’re looking forward to having him play some games. As you can imagine, he’s really keen to kickstart his season.”
The Munster bench includes Brian Hayes of Cork Constitution ahead of the injured Alan Quinlan while long term injury victim Barry Murphy is also hoping for some game time.
Approximately 4,000 tickets remained unsold yesterday so the likelihood is for an attendance in the region of 22, 000 that will create another fantastic Thomond Park atmosphere.
McGahan encapsulated the sense of expectation in the Munster camp when he stated that “there are no points for this game, it’s a one-off occasion from which we get a massive benefit. For the playing group and the young players it’s an opportunity to soak up invaluable international experience. For some guys, this could be the biggest match they will play in two or three years. It’s good for the city and the branch to be hosting such a game. It’s something everyone gets something out of and to have one like it every year would be tremendous.”
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