Keatley: Ireland snub drove Munster on
Fly-half Keatley, 26, was one of 10 Munster men selected by Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt in a 44-man extended squad for the forthcoming RBS 6 Nations and Irish Wolfhounds fixture against England Saxons.
Seven of Rob Penney’s players were called up by Schmidt for the Tests against Samoa, Australia and New Zealand, with only Ireland captain Paul O’Connell, back-rower Peter O’Mahony and scrum-half Conor Murray featuring in all three, with tighthead prop Stephen Archer used as a replacement against the Wallabies.
Yet Keatley, who bounced back from a poor performance in Munster’s league defeat at Ulster with a standout display in the Heineken Cup victory at Gloucester last Saturday, has earned a recall alongside Dave Kilcoyne, Felix Jones and Damien Varley. And while James Coughlan and Donncha O’Callaghan have been omitted, and Simon Zebo has been given another week to cement his comeback from injury, Keatley praised the collective battling spirit of his squad-mates for fighting, not just for the red jersey of their province, but to gain recognition in the national set-up.
“I think there is a bit of that bitter feeling that there aren’t more Munster players in the Ireland squad, particularly that last Ireland squad,” Keatley said yesterday. “I think we all rally together and I think we knew the only way we were going to get more players into that Irish squad was if we all stick together and the only way you’re going to get in that squad is if you’re all in that red jersey, and you play for that red jersey.
“It didn’t even need to be said, I think we all knew if we wanted to get that Ireland jersey we needed to do more and I think we showed that against Gloucester at the weekend.
“I think Gloucester was our first real start-to-finish performance to date so far — an all-round game with our forwards combining with our backs.”
As if to emphasis the Munster team ethic, twice-capped Keatley said he believed his call-up this week would serve as an incentive to fellow fly-half JJ Hanrahan that he was not far off selection himself.
“It’s nice to get a bit of recognition because I think I have been doing well. Even, just chatting to JJ, it is good for him as well because it shows he’s close enough as well.
“He and I have been chatting about it and we can’t see a reason why myself and JJ can’t break into that Irish squad, the two of us together. It’s nice to have your name in there, whether I’ll be in there for just the Saxons game... I’m just going up there to make an impression while I’m up there.
“Hopefully, with this England Saxons game, I’ll get an opportunity so I can show them I can step up to another level and play at that level.”
Keatley has been forced to watch rival out-halves Paddy Jackson and Ian Madigan vie for a Test spot behind Ireland’s first-choice number 10 Johnny Sexton but he said Schmidt had helped him stay positive that his chance would come.
“I’ve had a bit of chat with him, he’s kept me up to date on what things I need to work on and he keeps reminding me that there’s not much in it between myself, Paddy Jackson and Ian Madigan. He just stuck with them because they were on the summer tour and had no reason to drop them and that’s probably true and if I am going to break into that squad I need a few more big performances like I had against Gloucester.
“I had that glitch against Ulster in the first half, which might have held me back a bit. I don’t know if it is my time or not. I am obviously always pushing. I want to play for Ireland. It is every player’s dream to play for his country. I have before but I want to do it again. I can only control what I’m doing and I need to back up my performance against Gloucester now again against Edinburgh and pretty much leave Joe with no reason not to pick me.”
Keatley has this season been hindered by a condition affecting his hip and groin known as osteitis pubis, while Hanrahan has been carrying a similar complaint, which has required careful management for both and saw Keatley miss the league win with Connacht on December 27.
“To be honest, I’ve been pretty lucky with injuries throughout my career. When I was with Connacht I don’t think I missed a match through injury and I’ve only missed two or three with Munster. I was due an injury so no, I’ve been lucky enough that I’ve been playing well enough while managing my load.
“Unfortunately, against Ulster, it might have affected me, I don’t know. But, Ulster’s in the past now and I’ve moved on. I moved on against Gloucester and I’ll move on against Edinburgh.”
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