Varley grabs chance to put it all on line
Last weekend’s fog-bound Magners League encounter with Cardiff Blues marked the comeback of Munster captain O’Connell after a nine-month absence through injury and the lock made an instant impression by taking over the lineout leadership and calling the first one to himself at Thomond Park.
Cue a heap of pressure on Varley, the Munster hooker who considers the position a thankless task at the best of times.
“I didn’t want to mess up that throw,” Varley said. “I would be getting the blame anyway.”
Once out of the way and lineout ball safely delivered, Varley was able to enjoy O’Connell’s return to arms as much as anyone.
“It’s great to have Paul back. The applause he got when he ran out onto the field was equalled by our feelings of having him back as a player and captain. It is a great sign for us.”
That feel-good factor will continue tomorrow when O’Connell takes his place on the Thomond Park bench for Munster’s Heineken Cup clash with Ospreys.
Varley will start the game throwing to familiar faces in Mick O’Driscoll and Donncha O’Callaghan but O’Connell is primed to make an appearance later on as he bids to gain valuable minutes in order to get fully match fit. That’s music to Varley’s ears, the hooker eager to gain equally valuable minutes at lineout time with one of the best in the business.
“Absolutely, he is a great lineout operator. He is someone I probably have not played with that much during my time with Munster, except for a few times off the bench.
“I have been used to throwing to Micko and Donncha, but it is great to have him back in the set-up and throwing to him.”
As second fiddle to Jerry Flannery in the Munster front row for much of his first season since rejoining the Irish province from London Wasps in 2009, Varley is making the most of his extended run in the team with the first-choice hooker still battling a complicated calf problem. It is a run that has seen the 27-year-old help to defeat Australia and then join Declan Kidney’s Ireland squad for the final autumn Test against Argentina, following injury to Rory Best.
Varley came on as a substitute against the Pumas to win his second cap and the hooker is grateful for the opportunities that have been presented. “You can never not learn anything when you are involved with the Irish squad,” he said.
“My ambition is that I have to prove myself as a real contender for the starting jersey at hooker with Munster and we will see what happens after that.”
Playing the Ospreys represents another chance to prove himself.
“We are expecting a very physical and hard game from the Ospreys at the weekend,” Varley said. “Heineken Cup is a special occasion. It brings a lot of new elements. We are expecting a bruising encounter up front this weekend.
“As a whole pack, the Ospreys are very strong and physical up front. They have a strong set-piece and that is something we are going to have to deal with this weekend. But from one to eight they are all very physical up front and all great players.
“(Opposing hooker Richard) Hibbard is a strong man about the park. That is something we have to combat and cope with.”
Varley was on familiar ground this week as Munster beat the cold snap by training on the all-weather surface at Garryowen, the Limerick club he helped to the 2006 All Ireland League title. “At the start of my time with Wasps the thoughts of training at Dooradoyle with Munster ahead of a Heineken Cup game was far from my mind,” he said.
“I went over there on a camp at the beginning, but once I signed for Munster it was always something I was looking forward to and something I aimed to do. I am thankful that I have the opportunity to be here, preparing for a Heineken Cup game with Munster.”
MARTY HOLAH was last night cleared to face Munster at Thomond Park after his two-week suspension was quashed.
The former All Black flanker won his appeal after convincing a Welsh Rugby Union disciplinary hearing in Cardiff that his trip on Edinburgh’s Chris Paterson last week was not a red card offence. Justin Tipuric steps back to the replacements bench.
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