Penney trusts Munster hooker Varley

The mortification a rugby hooker always fears is to lose a strike against the head, and coming a close second is to see his darts fly over the heads of his lineout jumpers.

While he avoided the greater ignominy in the Stade de France last Saturday, Damien Varley nevertheless left Paris on something of a downer. Racing Metro stole four of his throws and the inevitable reaction is that it was the hooker’s fault. However, Varley and his coaches have studied the video and he has been cleared of all but one of the errors that made it such a frustrating afternoon for the Munster men.

“One was a throw, one was a lift error, one was a call error and one was a great bit of defence, a system error if you like,” insisted coach Rob Penney.