McGahan: Leamy warming to the task

CARDIFF BLUES have an enviable away record in Magners League rugby with six wins from the last seven, but at Thomond Park this evening (5pm), Denis Leamy will be determined to captain Munster to victory in a game that is as much a Heineken Cup dress rehearsal as a crucial League tie.

In a match between the leaders and third-placed side, captain Leamy will be charged with keeping Munster’s eye on the ball with the distraction of European rugby shimmering on the horizon.

It should help to focus Munster that the Blues are just four points adrift of them in the League. Squad skipper Paul O’Connell is listed amongst the replacements, while Leamy leads a phalanx of international stars in a return to provincial activity – Ronan O’Gara, Peter Stringer, Keith Earls, Damien Varley, Tony Buckley and Mick O’Driscoll.

A place on the bench has to suffice for Tomás O’Leary following Peter Stringer’s impressive form for Ireland this autumn.

McGahan also believes Leamy can play a significant role in Munster’s build-up to the forthcoming Heineken Cup back-to-back fixture list with the Ospreys.

“Denis missed a big part of last year but he trained the house down when he was on his way back; he has brought all that vigour and disappointment back into his pre-season and he has really attacked the season with venom; we’ve given him a look in with the captaincy and he has really warmed to that task and responsibility.”

McGahan expressed delight that figures such as Leamy can have come through to play such an influential part in Munster’s good run this season, especially when injuries can have such a debilitating influence.

“Denis, like others before him, brings aggressive vigour to the pack; you need different personalities within the team and he’s certainly one of those people who brings things that other guys don’t have, although all of them complement one another in different ways.”

The coach is pleased to be in a position of reasonable strength for today’s clash, although he isn’t one for taking the challenge from Cardiff lightly.

“It’s great to have guys like Paulie (O’Connell), Tomas (O’Leary), John (Hayes) and other experienced players available to us from the bench and it is probably our strongest position this year in terms of whom we have available. We had a huge injury loss at times and we had the national players under their national programme, so to try to amalgamate everyone and try to get them all together at once, this represents a lot about coming together.

“The good thing is that we also have a strong squad that we’ve been building over a couple of years and that means there are quality players available to us; where we have come from in terms of injury and non-availability of players, it’s a strong mix at a very important time. “However, the (big) thing now is to get it all together because people have been away for five weeks.”

In similar fashion to Munster, the Blues welcome back internationals — Dan Parks, Tom Shanklin, Sam Warburton, Gethin Jenkins and Gareth Williams being amongst them.

Cardiff’s coaching boss David Young is looking forward to the Thomond Park experience but he admits it’s going to be tough to follow some of his side’s recent away results.

“Munster is always a tough place to go play, what we need to do is to be up for it and we can call on a decent away record to give us hope of getting another win,” he said, but added, “Munster’s recent defeat to the Dragons in Wales will hardly count. Munster may be hurting from it but that makes them all the more dangerous. In any event, the team they select this weekend will be a lot different.

“No team goes throughout the season unbeaten and one thing Munster don’t do is lose many home games. For them it was probably a blip, but they’ve been there before and will look at where they went wrong. I’m sure they will be determined to put it right and with a big crowd on their side they’ll surely be very difficult to beat.”

Munster will be expected to win given the strength of the side they’ve named; indeed, they will view it as imperative. Apart from the necessity for the big movers and shakers to follow the recent example shown by the younger generation, Munster do need a boost in advance of the crucial home and away Heineken Cup battle with the Ospreys — from which they probably need to extract eight, if not maximum, points to permit them a stress-free Christmas.