Leamy relishes chance to blow away cobwebs
Named at blindside flanker is Denis Leamy and for the Tipperary strongman this represents an early opportunity to get into competitive action and blow away the cobwebs after a frustrating spell at the World Cup, where he didn’t see nearly as much action as he would have liked.
“The World Cup didn’t go the way I planned, I certainly would have liked to have started a game and to have done more.
“It was very difficult to come in for two or three minutes and make a mark but while it was disappointing for me personally, you’ve got to accept that while the team is doing well you have to accept the decisions of the coaches.”
Still, it was a far more positive experience than World Cup 2007 in France.
It didn’t take long to surpass that, he said. “We were there about three days and someone made the point that already it has been a better trip than Bordeaux!
“A lot of lessons were learned from there, they had to be learned, and they were painful lessons.
“Certainly travelling around to the different cities in New Zealand felt more like a tour than staying in one city. That freshened up everything.
“The core of the group got on extremely well and no cliques formed. That showed on the pitch and it was a very enjoyable time in our rugby career.”
The real highlight however was the win over Australia. Ireland were the only northern hemisphere side to record a win over a Tri Nations side, something the players will keep reminding coach McGahan – a proud Aussie – about as this season progresses.
“Yes, beating a southern hemisphere team in the southern hemisphere was great. While it’s nice to be home, overall New Zealand was a great experience and I really enjoyed it, but there has already been a bit of banter in the dressing room. We’ll be letting Tony know about the Australian result on a regular basis.” With 13 weeks of games ahead of them now, they’re looking forward to the test.
For the pack especially Aironi will be exactly what the doctor ordered, up against a typically tough and gnarly Italian eight, which should set Munster up nicely for their next outing, the Aviva league clash with Leinster on this night week.
That, then, should see them well prepared going into the Heineken Cup, where all the teams in their group are currently going well in their own respective leagues.
“I saw a bit of Northampton last week against the Ospreys. They’ve settled well and are going nicely; the Scarlets and Castres have too. It is a very difficult group again and the standard has risen year-in. year-out. It gets harder and harder.”
That’s a few weeks down the road, however. This Friday is about blending the returning players back into the Munster system. Not that any of them can be absolutely certain of his place, especially not Denis himself, with several youngsters impressing in the league while the internationals were away.
“Munster have been blessed with very good back-rows over the last 10 to 15 years and that level of competition has not changed,” he said.
“You can see the future stars coming through. We need to get our calls and structures right this weekend, and get into a tightly knit group. That only happens from playing games. If you look three weeks down the line, that won’t happen.
“We’re lucky we have two very tough games to get ourselves battle-hardened for the Heineken Cup. We don’t have much time.
” There are a lot of places up for grabs so any time we get a bit of game-time, it is important to make a mark.”
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