Ray of hope as Foley’s fledglings pack big punch

Munster A 64 Esher 9

A nine-try demolition of British & Irish Cup strugglers Esher showed that Munster’s emerging players have the appetite and know-how to get a job done and with one match to go in the group stages it solidifies the province’s chances of progressing from the top two of Pool B to the knockout stages.

That will give them the chance of further examination in harder battles ahead, starting next month in Bristol and while some will also get their opportunity to further their individual causes on Magners League duty in the absence of the Ireland players on Six Nations duty, head coach Tony McGahan this week made it clear that he is not prepared to throw untested players into the fray for the sake of it.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that young players have been pushing their way forward but just because they’re young doesn’t mean they’re the right option,” McGahan said when asked if last weekend’s Heineken Cup exit would prompt major surgery on the senior squad.

“You need to be selecting the best players, whether they’re young, middle aged or old. You need to be selecting the best side but we need to be keeping an eye on them and making sure there’s a process and a pathway for those players to continue to be exposed.

“You need to be picking the form players and the best at that point in time but you certainly look at a string of games where a player has to be displaced and that might be a shorter timeframe.”

Scott Deasy, Ian Nagle, Tom Gleeson and the already established Denis Hurley have been the immediate beneficiaries of that shorter timeframe, promoted from last week’s B&I Cup win at Nottingham to the Heineken Cup squad for today’s final pool game against London Irish.

Fly-half Deasy kicked all 15 points in the one-point win at Meadow Lane and while second row Nagle is also set to take his place on the bench at Thomond Park he was required to put in an extra shift at Dooradoyle.

Talked up in midweek by McGahan, Nagle partnered Dave Foley in the second row and didn’t put a foot wrong before being called ashore after 50 minutes as Dave O’Callaghan slotted in seamlessly.

Then again, there was little need to move into top gear with the game already won at half-time, six tries in the opening period sending Munster A into an unassailable 43-9 interval lead.

Despite possessing a pack whose strength Foley had warned his own forwards about, Munster were too powerful for the English visitors both at the set-piece and in the loose as the back row of Billy Holland, Tommy O’Donnell and Paddy Butler harried and hassled Esher’s backs.

O’Donnell, tighthead prop Stephen Archer and loosehead Dave Kilcoyne shoved over the line in the first half but there was some flair, too, as full-back Sean Scanlon, wings Danny Barnes and outside centre Ivan Dineen all got over while wing Simon Zebo and inside centre Troy Smith also carved through.

With such a commanding lead, there was an inevitable slowdown after the break, Zebo getting in on the act for the first score of the second half, kicking ahead a loose ball on halfway and streaking ahead to fall on the ball for his try.

Troy Smith completed a set of tries for the Munster backs in the 70th minute as he scored under the posts before substitute scrum-half Conor Murray landed the final blow with the ninth try, converted by JJ Hanrahan.

These kids are all right.

MUNSTER: S Scanlon; D Barnes, I Dineen (C Hircock, 63), T Smith, S Zebo; D Cusack (JJ Hanrahan, 71), D Williams (C Murray, 51); D Kilcoyne, S Henry (D Casey, 58), S Archer (P Borlase, 58); I Nagle (Dave O’Callaghan, 51), D Foley; B Holland — captain, T O’Donnell (B O’Hara, 80), P Butler.

ESHER: G Mullen; T Loizides, P Mackenzie, J Brown, R Fowles (B Fowles, 55); R Kirby (D Ceruino, 70), N Losardo (P O’Grady, 55); D O’Reilly, A Fedorciow (S Edwards, 55), T Tunnicliff (C Rowland, 55); J Doherty, J Inglis (M Symons, 70); J Waterhouse, A Bone, S Gaynor – captain.