Cantwell: Thomond will beat big freeze

MUNSTER are confident the Thomond Park pitch will beat the cold snap and be in great shape for this Sunday’s Heineken Cup clash against Ospreys.

Tony McGahan’s squad have been training this week at Garryowen’s all-weather surface at their Dooradoyle ground in Limerick as the cold weather has frozen grounds across Ireland over the past two weeks.

However stadium manager John Cantwell was in upbeat mood last night about the prospects for play on Sunday afternoon.

He said: “We’re very confident that the pitch will be in tip-top condition for Sunday.

“We’ve been preparing the playing surface as appropriate this week and the pitch is not frozen currently so we would feel we’re in a good position to facilitate Sunday’s game.

“We had the pitch covered with straw last week but now there is no cover, which is what it needs to recover. The thaw’s helping, we just hope the forecast is accurate.”