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.