Ryan embracing the future

NOT so long after establishing himself as a senior figure in the Munster squad, Donnacha Ryan is battling to stay there in the face of what he describes as “ferocious” competition.

Munster Rugby might well be perceived as being in transition, but Ryan believes the future is bright and describes up-and-coming players like Peter O’Mahony and Paddy Butler as being hugely competitive, not to mention accepting that competition is coming from other quarters too.

O’Mahony, however, is the one that springs to mind most in recent Munster rugby discussions, and Ryan can understand why: “I’ve been mistaken for Peter a few times — people coming up and calling me Peter. The way he’s playing I think it’s a massive, massive compliment!

“He’s a fantastic guy, a nice fella and he’s a tough as nails character as well. I played with him for the first time in the latter part of the Leinster game and in the Northampton match. He’s a tough player, has massive confidence and it’s fantastic to have him in there. He brings another edge to our game. He’s got fantastic potential and the attitude to back it up.”

The last 12 months have been good for Ryan, whose performances in the pre-World Cup internationals helped win him a place in Ireland’s squad for New Zealand.

He admitted: “Yeah, it has been a good few months, a great few months I suppose. In August, getting a few starts for Ireland was a massive achievement for my career and then getting selected for the World Cup was a massive plus.

“It was nice to get a few runs over there, without trying to be a passenger. It was great to perform on the biggest stage in the world. Since coming home, I’ve put in some good performances for Munster and I see trying to keep that going as my main challenge.”

With 92 appearances for Munster and 13 caps for Ireland, the future appears bright for the 27-year-old from Nenagh. He’s looking forward to a fruitful season.

As Munster head into tomorrow’s RaboDirect Pro12 clash with leaders Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium, Ryan isn’t likely to be troubled by the challenge, particularly after Munster jumped two major Heineken Cup hurdles with wins over Northampton and Castres.

The second/back rower recognises there was an element of luck about both wins, but is convinced they were deserved. “We didn’t perform fantastically well in the games — we played sporadically — but I thought we worked extremely hard and showed a massive attitude and resolve to dog out the wins.

“I don’t think we ever panicked at all (against Castres). As a team, we just said we’d focus on ourselves and we stood up against them, we really had the better of them in the physicality stakes. That showed in the end. It was just a pity we had to leave it so late to get the result.”

Ryan will be looking for more of the same tomorrow, recognising the huge rivalry between Munster and the Ospreys and acknowledging revenge for an early season defeat in Thomond Park might be the only appropriate and acceptable response.

“To lose at home was a massive disappointment. It’s not something we take lightly especially at Thomond Park. They’re a fantastic side, and we’re going to have to be very aggressive up front. They’ve got a tough pack and I think we’re just going to have to see how we go in the physicality stakes. We’re going to have to match them and take it from there.”