Munster cash in as Keatley kicks on

Munster supporters are used to seeing their fly-halves live up to top billing, but then again they were spoiled rotten for more than decade by the presence of Ronan O’Gara in that number 10 jersey.

Following O’Gara was always going to be a much harder sell and so, in addition to having to plot the downfall of arch-rivals Leinster, Ian Keatley also had the burden of proving his worth to the Thomond Park faithful as the successor to greatness.

Furthermore, and as if that was not enough to deal with, Keatley was cast as a protagonist in a head-to-head with Leinster’s own fledgling chosen one at out-half, Ian Madigan, in what was considered by some an Ireland trial match for the November Test series.

That is quite a number of boxes to be ticked in one evening but in steering Munster to a 19-15 victory over Leinster, Keatley went a long way towards checking them all off.

His place-kicking prowess may have some way to go to match the iconic O’Gara’s but a return of four penalties and a conversion from seven shots at goal was enhanced by a delightful crossfield kick from left touchline to right that put in Keith Earls for the only try of the game.

And that Madigan had been sin-binned only seconds before in that 31st minutes of the game, for coming in at the side as Leinster defended at a ruck on their own try-line after Keatley had sent the visitors back-pedalling with an excellent line break and kick-chase for Earls, made the moment all the sweeter.

“I was happy,” was all the emotion Keatley would admit to following a post-match rubdown. “For Earlsy’s try we had a penalty advantage and we’ve always talked about having a go when you have a penalty advantage. You might as well try and kick, a 50-50 chance, and thankfully tonight Earlsy took it very well and we got the five points from it, so I was happy enough... To beat Leinster, who are seen as the number one province, is very satisfying.

“2011 was the last time Munster had a win over Leinster, so it’s been a long time coming, and we talked about that today. It was a good way to get us up for the match.”

Dublin-born Keatley, 26, had been equally buoyed by his public anointment by head coach Rob Penney during the week as Munster’s first-choice fly-half, putting to bed debate over the early-season rotation between him and 20-year-old JJ Hanrahan. Penney had backed the older man’s candidacy, having seen him provide solid back-up to O’Gara during the veteran’s final campaign before retirement last season while he conceded Hanrahan’s development was a longer-term project, particularly in terms of game management.

Keatley understandably is glad to see the back of O’Gara but grateful for the chance he had in his first two seasons with the province to learn from Ireland’s record points scorer.

“I’m looking forward to the year. It was actually great my first year standing behind Rog and learning from him. He has got so much experience and he has been a fantastic servant to Irish rugby for the past 10 years but last year I kind of felt I was pushing him a bit and in fairness Rob said to me ‘you are just unlucky it is Rog in front of you’.

“And in fairness Rog, in the big games, he came up trumps for us and you can’t have any complaints about that but I felt last year I was pushing Rog and this year hopefully I can step up. They are big shoes to fill but I’m not trying to be Rog, I’m trying to be Ian Keatley and I play completely different to him.

“Last year Rog was always there so I was trying to get ahead of him, always wanted it to be my time. I wanted it to be my time last year. I suppose it is a little bit different in that Rob has come out and said I’m the number one which is a nice thing to hear. I didn’t have that last year. I’m just excited to be here this season. We’ve had a good start, we had a little slip up in Treviso but apart from that, in training and even in the matches we’re pretty excited for the whole game.”

Penney was delighted by the way Keatley helped to close out the game on Saturday, protecting a four-point lead by keeping Leinster pinned in their own half for most of the final quarter-hour as Hanrahan was kept on the bench.

Yet competition for Keatley, of course, is not just at provincial level. With Johnny Sexton Ireland’s undisputed first-choice fly-half, Keatley is locked in a tussle with Madigan and Ulster’s Paddy Jackson for the remaining out-half berths available in Joe Schmidt’s squad for next month’s Tests against Samoa, Australia and New Zealand.

As Sexton guided the British & Irish Lions to victory in Australia during the summer, Madigan got the Test nod over Jackson in the games with the United States and then Canada while Keatley led an Emerging Ireland squad in Georgia. Despite a strong showing there, the Munster man was omitted from Schmidt’s 42-man squad for his first training camp of the season at Carton House last month.

“Obviously I want to be playing for Ireland. I want to be in those Ireland squads. I could kind of understand that there weren’t that many games since the summer tour so Joe has no reason to drop any player out of that Irish squad, and he had a reason to bring a few players in.

“In fairness, he rang me up and said ‘there’s nothing really between yourself, Madigan and Jackson, so just keep pushing on’.

“He explained that to me. All I can do now is just keep trying to put in good performances like I did tonight, and keep pushing on. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen, but if I keep playing like that at least I’m putting that question out there.”

Keatley knows what he needs to work on to make that final push for recognition and add to the two caps he earned whilst a Connacht player on the 2009 tour to North America.

“I think I need to have a go a bit more, especially when I have the ball in hand, just like Ian Madigan has been doing. He has been backing himself and I think I need to do a bit more of that, as I feel I am a threat when I take the ball up to the line. I just need to back myself a bit more, which I think I did tonight and I’m very happy with it.”