Coughlan: Players have a hell of a lot more to give

MUNSTER’S James Coughlan has dismissed suggestions the current playing squad are past their prime.

The post mortems which followed the province’s Heineken Cup exit haven’t made for pretty reading but Coughlan insisted the elder members ‘have a hell of a lot still to give’ while he also highlighted the talent emerging from the Academy ranks.

Coughlan explained: “Johnny Wilkinson made a great point a couple of years ago. He said he was never as good as people said when things were good but he was never as bad as people said when things were bad. I think the truth about us is probably like that and that’s how I’d look at it.”

Coughlan, a product of the Munster Academy, is impressed by the production line of talent ready to step into the limelight. “The young fellas coming through are excellent. Looking at the likes of Ian Nagle, Peter O’Mahony, Tom Gleeson and even from the A team the other night, Sean Scanlon, Danny Barnes, Declan Cusack, Ivan Dineen all throwing their hand up for places, that competition is key to our progression.”

“Even in the pack you’ve Tommy O’Donnell, who is still only a young player and Paddy Butler only just turned 20. The quality of player is there. They’ll all mature and the whole thing with Munster is you only borrow the jersey until the next guy takes it off you so you try and hold onto it for as long as you can. It’s not a case of being bitter when guys come in and go out, Axel (Anthony Foley) always helped me through and hopefully when I’m a bit older I’ll be of help to the other fellas who were in my position,” the Dolphin man continued.

That Munster haven’t integrated that young talent into Heineken Cup games with the same frequency as their provincial counterparts in recent seasons has been touted as a possibility for an early exit this year. But Coughlan disagrees with such an assessment.

“That result didn’t make us bad players overnight,” he said. “You’re not going to qualify if you don’t collect an away win somewhere. What we needed to do was win before we got to France to make sure we were qualified. It was always going to be difficult going there and (to) have to win. They’ve (Toulon) unbelievable quality in their side so I don’t think it’s a case of ‘time to scrap everything that’s gone before us’.

“I don’t think it’s a case of having to start fresh, I think that will happen in the natural course of things with the players that are in the squad and I’d expect it to happen over the next couple of years. I think the main thing over the next few years is where you’ll see the older lads start to pass it on to the Nagle’s, the Foley’s, the Paddy Butler’s and Tommy O’Donnell’s. That progression will happen naturally but I do think there is still a hell of a lot in those players, especially with the World Cup coming up as well.”

Of his own Heineken Cup involvement this season he recalled: “I was happy, I think I started in four of them, it’s just a bit disappointing that when you’re started the majority, the results haven’t gone your way but it was a step forward. If you stop looking for improvement you’ll go backwards. ”

* James Coughlan was yesterday presented with the Boardwalk Bar and Grill sponsored Sportsperson of the month award for November.