O’Connell set for final charge
The ankle ligament damage suffered in the Magners League win over Leinster earlier this month will sideline O’Connell for another four weeks but not the six or eight weeks that would have ended his domestic season.
The injury timeframe gives him a twin target of a Magners League and Amlin Challenge Cup finals in May — provided Munster are involved.
There were fears initially that O’Connell had broken his ankle with the downbeat prognosis even suggesting he might have been in danger of missing out on Ireland’s World Cup challenge in New Zealand next September.
X-rays allayed any fears of a break but O’Connell has been sweating following an initial scan and another check, after the swelling had subsided, carried out in Dublin this week.
The medical bulletin issued by Munster yesterday indicated that he should be fit to make a comeback to training within a few weeks.
Munster’s sensational Amlin Cup quarter-final tie against Brive last weekend, which they won 42-37, has earned them a home semi-final against Harlequins at Thomond Park on April 30. It’s unlikely but not impossible that the big second row will make it back for a Magners League semi-final which Munster will participate in, most likely with home advantage, on May 13-14.
However if the rehabilitation time-scale is accurate, O’Connell will have the opportunity to make his presence felt before the end of the season. The Amlin Cup final is fixed for Cardiff on Friday, May 20, and the decider of the Magners League is down for Saturday May 28.
The venue for that will depend on who comes through; if, for instance, Munster hold on to top billing after their remaining three matches, the final will be at Thomond Park if they subsequently win a home semi-final against the fourth placed team.
Meanwhile Munster coach Tony McGahan has predicted that full-back Felix Jones is set to challenge for a place in Ireland’s World Cup squad. After successive five-star performances, McGahan is convinced his number 15 is close to breaking into the Ireland team after two miserable injury-ridden seasons.
As McGahan also lavished praise on rookie scrum-half Conor Murray, he believed Jones’ rich vein of form may already have been noted at national level.
“I think he has a genuine chance,” he said. “He is one of the form backs in the country, and if you were picking a weekly side out of the last three weeks including Europe then he would be in the mix. When we brought him here two years ago, we felt he could add something to our back play. Unfortunately injuries curtailed him, but they haven’t dented his ambition and desire to be an international player.
“One of the first things that struck us is what a determined young man he is. I don’t think people appreciate the challenge he had to come back in and then to play so well straight after being out for eight months and then another seven months. He has shown high class form against extremely good opposition.”
Although Murray is battling in the far more competitive environment of half back — with Tomás O’Leary, Peter Stringer and Duncan Williams all in the mix — McGahan is pleased with his progress too.
“Conor has given us a different dynamic, he has a little bit of the attributes of all the other players. He still has some edges to iron out, no doubt about that, but he’s a young guy with a super temperament and from a half-back perspective we have some real quality.”
Munster head for Parc Y Scarlets tomorrow to take on the Scarlets in a bid to guarantee themselves top seeding and a home draw in the Magners League. McGahan with Munster’s attacking prowess in last week’s Amlin Cup quarter-final win over Brive, but less enthusiastic about a porous defence.
“Anytime you score 42 points away from home is pleasing,” he said. “But our defence left a lot to be desired and to let four tries in was disappointing. Maybe there was fatigue in the last 10 minutes but that didn’t excuse things because our defence was poor from the very start and all the way through; it wasn’t the back end of the game when we let ourselves down, so that’s something we really need to get right for this weekend.
“Our defence has served us well all season and we wouldn’t be where we are now without that being good, but we need to get back on track. There is always something to focus on and that gives us something to focus on; it will give us the desire to go further and get some silverware.”
Although McGahan would love to have a home semi-final wrapped up as quickly as possible, he is conscious of what some of the players have been through these past three weeks.
“It’s a balancing act,” he admitted. “We have rotated the squad this season and it is important at this back end of it that we’re fresh going into all the games, that we have a real competitive edge. After three big weeks, we’re still looking at who we’re going to give a rest to and who we’re going to put forward; we’re trying to cover all bases.”
* James Downey has ruled out the possibility of a move to Munster next season. The Northampton Saints centre has been touted as a potential replacement for Sale Sharks-bound Sam Tuitupou, but said: “I’m really enjoying things at Northampton at the moment and I don’t have any intention of going anywhere. If my name has been mentioned in relation to Munster then it’s purely a rumour. I signed a new contract here recently and I was delighted to do that.”
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