Sherry: New Munster wave can be special too

Having burst onto the Irish rugby scene in the 2010/11 season, the last two years have been slow burners for Mike Sherry. At 25, the Munster man is focused on becoming the best hooker in Ireland and winning trophies with his province.

Sherry made his first international appearance this summer, coming off the bench with three minutes remaining against the US. And while he says it was nice to get a first cap, he accepted that the tour was an unsatisfying one overall.

“I was very disappointed not to add to that first cap in the second week [against Canada], but that’s the way it goes. You’re trying to keep everyone involved and I appreciate that. Sean Cronin and Richardt Strauss are very good players as well so while I was very disappointed, I understand where he [Les Kiss] was coming from.

“You have to look at it from a selfish point of view though, and I wanted to get more game time and more caps. Hopefully that’ll come this year.”

With Joe Schmidt bringing an open mind to player selection, and new forwards coach John Plumtree lacking any existing bias or favouritism, Sherry is keen to take the opportunity available this season.

“I’ve moved a few places up the Irish pecking order in the last few years, so I want to continue that and ultimately be number one in the country. It’s the ultimate goal I suppose and I’m working towards that.”

The best way to bounce back from another dispiriting Ireland tour was to ensconce himself in working hard with Munster. Sherry has battled through five weeks of pre-season training and says he is feeling fit and looking forward.

In two weeks time, Rob Penney’s side take on Gloucester in their first friendly game of the campaign, but Sherry has been looking at the bigger picture. He explains that Munster haven’t discussed specific aims for the season because it is unnecessary to do so.

“We don’t need to set them because we know exactly what we want to do. The Heineken Cup and the Pro12 are the two focuses; we have to win both. That’s what’s in our heads every year, we don’t need to sit down and set ourselves goals.

“Obviously you’ll have mini-targets in certain gaps during the year to pick up a certain amount of points and those type of things but going into every year, it’s Heineken Cup and Rabo. Nothing else will suffice.”

You would expect nothing less than that statement of intent from a Munster man born and bred. While much of the coverage of Penney’s squad last season spoke of ‘transition’, that has never been an excuse for the players.

Not winning a trophy last season was a clear failure in Sherry’s eyes, regardless of the turnover in the squad. The personnel may have changed, but the attitude in the Munster squad has not.

“When I first got involved, the Leamys, the Wallaces, the Flannerys, the Hayes, the Horans, all these fellas were still involved. Nothing else but winning would do for these guys. They’ve instilled that in us. This transition period is something we never talked about. It’s our team now and we have to win trophies to back up what the lads have done in the past.”

Some of the great Munster names have moved on as recently as this summer, but there is little point in the current squad focusing on who isn’t at the province.

While Sherry acknowledges, “what those guys brought was special,” he also points out that his own peers are capable of creating history.

“There are a lot of young fellas who are stepping up to the mark. What we have here now is special too. I don’t think leadership will ever be an issue with a Munster team. You only have to look at Peter O’Mahony, who is captain at the age of 23.”

O’Mahony’s ascent to the captaincy is sign of change, a symbol that Sherry and this group of young players are taking ownership at Munster. The skilful hooker is confident that O’Mahony will rise to the challenge.

“Pete has a different style. He’s quiet; he wouldn’t speak much. He’s not a man to say something for the sake of saying it. What he says always means something. I think with Pete, he leads by example on the pitch, carrying four guys on his back to get us over the gain line.

“He was captain of the ‘A’ squad and even back then, even though he was one of the youngest on the team, he was a real leader. Just the way he handled himself. He has a very mature head, and he gets slagged about it a bit. A very old head on young shoulders and he’s definitely a good choice as captain.”

Sherry is certain that everything is in its right place for Munster. The optimism of pre season is a powerful force, but there is more to the hooker’s confidence.

Sherry is determined to make this the defining season of his career so far, with several clear goals in mind.

“A huge one is just to win trophies. You want to look back on your career and know that’s what you’re going to be judged on. So winning trophies, cementing my place in the starting team for Munster and ultimately, I want to be number one hooker in Ireland.”