Paulie back on the paddock but Penney plays down return date

Paul O’Connell took an active part in yesterday’s Munster squad session at the UL and looks well on course to make his targeted return to active service by early to mid-April after surgery on his back on January 31.

“He seems to be progressing nicely,” said coach Rob Penney who, in accordance to customary practice, is leaving it up to the player and the medical team to monitor his progress.

“There’s always a bit of a buzz for the other guys when Paul is involved and it’s nice to have him well but we’re just drip fed the information from the medics because they don’t want us to get too excited.”

The omission of Ronan O’Gara and David Kilcoyne from the starting line-up in the Ireland team against Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday was a major talking point at yesterday’s squad session. Coach Rob Penney voiced mild surprise, simply commenting: “They had been backing up the starters in the previous Tests and obviously other people have now leapfrogged them.”

Kilcoyne has made massive progress this year, much to the delight of the Munster coaching team.

“You are always disappointed when the lads don’t get selected, while also respecting the fact that the guys selecting the group have their rationale behind why they do things.

“Killer’s time will come. He will be very disappointed. He will also realise that his time is coming. If you had said at the start of the campaign that he would be in line to be the starting loose head at international level, you would probably think I was being full of it. He has to keep doing what he is doing. If you play well enough for long enough, they can’t leave you out.

“Don’t get disappointed. Don’t sit on your laurels. Keep doing what you’re doing and try to get better. You have no control over selection. Just keep boxing on.”

Tommy O’Donnell and James Coughlan will be available for Sunday’s Rabo Direct Pro12 visit to Treviso having missed out on inclusion in the Irish starting 23 for Murrayfield. That game kicks off at 2pm, the same time Ireland play in Murrayfield. A recording will go out on TG4 at 5pm that afternoon, however.

Penney reported that flanker Niall Ronan is likely to play club rugby on Saturday for Shannon who meet Old Belvedere in the Ulster Bank League. Further positive news is that full-back Felix Jones is also available after a procedure to clear up some lingering knee damage and is likely to be involved at Treviso.

“We did some good things and didn’t get the result but that doesn’t mean the team performed badly the whole way through,” Penney maintained in reaction to last week’s defeat by the Scarlets.

“We just had one of those lapses, close but no cigar. Treviso got a wee bit embarrassed last week against Leinster and will be a different team altogether on their home turf. So we must make sure we are accurate and complete the opportunities we create.”