Wallace wary of O’Brien’s ‘frightening’ potential
The Magners League leaders are looking to enhance an enviable home record, at the same time as trying to end a run of five consecutive Leinster victories, and the seasoned flanker believes O’Brien could be one of the biggest threats to that twin goal.
Wallace comes back from the Six Nations on a high but he recognises the potential damage O’Brien could do, apart altogether from the danger posed en bloc by the Leinster back row and several other high-profile players, not least his international captain Brian O’Driscoll.
In relation to O’Brien, Wallace said: “It’s frightening when you look at his age profile and see the kind of player he is and the power, knowledge and skill he gives to the game.
“The future is so bright for him; he has a really strong career ahead. He’s tuned in off the pitch as well; he works very hard and has probably four or five businesses on the go, according to the Leinster guys.
“I’ve seen the damage he has done in other games for Leinster, he works very well with the scrum halves off ruck ball and seems to make a lot of breaks around there. We will be tested, for sure, and will have to bring our A game on Saturday. He’s quick and powerful, so if he does come to a tackle he can break through it and he doesn’t seem to lose a lot of speed doing that.”
But as a satisfied Wallace positively assessed one of the new generation of Irish back rowers, reckoning that national coach Declan Kidney has nothing much to worry about in terms of available class there down the line, he insisted O’Brien wouldn’t be given the freedom of Thomond Park.
It grates with Munster, and particularly with Wallace, that Leinster are now ahead of his side in the Irish and European pecking order.
Wallace has been involved in most of these eagerly-awaited derby games since 1998.
“I suppose it’s like any derby game, they tend to stand out, and I’ve been involved in about 20.”
The early days were probably tougher, he said, in terms of sledging between the players, who have moved on generally in the professional era.
“Yeah, there are little bits here and there but it has probably become less and less down through the years because maybe the games are more intense and guys can’t afford to use any extra energy,” he said.
“I just try not to get caught up in that side of things, you just lose concentration and focus; that’s sometimes what the guys (others) are looking for, to take your concentration away from your job and game and get you sidetracked.”
Those last five defeats may have disappointed but Wallace believes each of them have to be consigned to the past: “Yeah, every defeat hurts but we’re not getting sidetracked about what happened before, we will look at this for what it is and the valuable points that are on offer.”
Although runaway leaders, Munster are unlikely to lose so much ground as to be denied a home semi-final, Wallace is anxious that they continue to win and pointed to the difficult run-in over the next four games involving three of the top four teams, Leinster at home, Ospreys and Llanelli away, and then Connacht to wrap up the league section of the campaign.
“Have no doubt about it, this is not an easy run and you must want to at least target the points at home, starting Saturday. We just have to look to win this game,” he said.
He believes that can happen too, even if failure to qualify for the Heineken Cup knockout stages is still being felt by the squad. “The Magners is very important to us and it’s a positive to be involved in the Amlin Challenge Cup, the quality of what’s in front of us suggests it’s going to be a huge challenge but we have reset our targets and will do the best we can for the rest of the season,” he said.
“We were disappointed to be knocked out of the Heineken Cup but we have a chance to get some silverware in Europe. On top of the Magners League, there is a huge amount to play for yet.”
IRELAND’S rugby players won’t get much time to rest after this year’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
Less than three weeks after the competition, the 2011/12 Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup tournaments will kick-off, in November 2011. The two European club rugby tournaments will start later than usual but the tournaments will revert to normal format in December.
The Heineken Cup final will be staged at Twickenham on the weekend of May 19/20 while the Amlin Challenge Cup final will be played on the same weekend.
Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup:
Round 1: 10-13 November; Round 2: 17-20 November; Round 3: 8-11 December; Round 4: 15-18 December; Round 5: 12-15 January; Round 6: 19-22 January.
Quarter-finals: 5-8 April; Semi-final: 27-29 April; Finals 18-20 May.
- Meanwhile the Magners League season will kick off on the first weekend of September and will be played over six of the eight weeks set aside for the world cup.
After the opening six rounds of matches there will be a two-week break for the world cup semi-finals and final before resuming on 29 October. The play-off semi-finals will follow on the weekend of 12 May with the third grand final scheduled for 26 May.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
