Sherry has time on his side in effort to overhaul host of hooker legends

MIKE SHERRY reels off all the names he must leapfrog to achieve his ultimate ambition of becoming Ireland’s first choice hooker.

First, he has to command the place at Munster. But it won’t be easy given that Jerry Flannery, Damien Varley and Denis Fogarty are ahead of him in the pecking order. Even then, there would be the little matter of edging clear of the likes of Rory Best and Sean Cronin, not to mention the soon-to-be-Ireland-qualified Richardt Strauss, who has starred in Leinster’s great run of success.

However, Sherry has at least two advantages over most of the others. At 22, he has time very much on his side while his potential is so massive he has been handed a full two-year contract with Munster, starting in July.

Mike is a son of Mick Sherry, who played twice at wing-forward for Ireland in 1975 and enjoyed a highly successful career with Connacht, Lansdowne and Garryowen.

Sherry junior was introduced to the game at six years of age at Garryowen and has loved every minute since. He is noted for his pace and ball-carrying ability, allied to a keen footballing brain and a refusal to shirk even the toughest areas of contact.

“We won the Munster Schools Junior Cup at Ard Scoil Rís in 2003,” he smiles.

“It was the first time Ard Scoil had won anything so obviously it was a massive thing for the school. David Kilcoyne, who is also in the Munster Academy, was in that team, and we beat PBC led by Scott Deasy, another member of the squad, in the final. I also played Munster and Ireland schools 18s and 19s.”

An appearance in the Under 19 World Cup in Belfast whetted the appetite still further and on leaving Ard Scoil, Mike joined the Munster sub-academy and moved on to the University of Limerick to undertake a four-year business studies course which he hopes to complete later this year.

He made four appearances for the province in the Magners League last season and was a member of the A side that reached the final of the British & Irish Cup.

He said: “The coaches here at Munster and the setup and the players’ attitudes are brilliant.

“I see Keith Wood around here in UL a good bit. He had a big influence on me and was always the player I’d love to emulate. As for Munster’s future, he is completely optimistic, insisting that “there are plenty of young fellas coming through”.