O’Mahony: We must lay down the law for Laidlaw

Munster skipper Peter O’Mahony has warned that his Edinburgh counterpart Greig Laidlaw must be curtailed in Sunday’s Heineken Cup clash at Thomond Park.

In October’s round one clash, flying winger Tim Visser’s late try turned the game but Laidlaw’s boot was a crucial element in the win as he kicked five penalties and two conversions for a 19-point contribution in the surprise 29-23 result.

“I think he’s just a class footballer, obviously he is very important to Edinburgh and he’s a world class goal kicker,” said O’Mahony.

“If we’re going to be ill-disciplined and give away silly penalties in our own half and not exit well, he’s going to punish you and he’s going to get the headlines. He is an extremely good kicker and he runs their game plan extremely well also.

“Of course he is a big character in their squad. He’s a hugely experienced international as well. He’s a big leader for them and is someone we would always look at. If there are players who influence the game they probably have five or six of them, but he’s always going to be on that sheet.”

Overall, O’Mahony holds high regard for Edinburgh, not least as they have improved to the point they will be fighting for Amlin Cup inclusion by taking second spot in Pool 6.

“They are building. They have shown enough form over the last couple of months to show they are certainly acquiring traits that are making them tough to play against regardless of who they are playing against or where. We are not under any illusion that it is going to be a seriously tough game.

“There are huge ramifications for us and seeding for the Amlin for them. It is huge for us so I don’t think there is going to be anybody holding back.”

Edinburgh have benefited of late by playing a simple, direct, game plan, said O’Mahony.

“The game plan they have isn’t overly flashy but they are very comfortable with it and very effective at it. That’s the direction they are going, they look to keep it simple and it is very tough to defend against at times when they get you where they want you.

“It is going to be tough and we know it because there will be a huge physicality to the game. They have a couple of huge ball carriers not only in the backs but in the forwards as well and we are going to have to stop them at source.”

So, are they better now than in round one?

“100% yes, they have come a long way since we played them in the first round. They are developing their game all the time and are very comfortable with what they are doing.”

O’Mahony knows that the fear factor at this stage is a good thing.

“We’re obviously still hurting from that game. There’s definitely a bitterness there having lost, and not having shown what we were capable of that day. There will be no false sense of security, the fear factor is a good fear factor in that we’ve been beaten by them. We know they’re capable of playing extremely well but it will draw us out and we will be able to put in a good performance.”

Having already qualified, Munster could be side-tracked by putting the cart before the horse and dreaming of a home quarter-final. O’Mahony, however, promises there will be no unwelcome diversions.

“Look, we’re a professional rugby team and know what has to be done, we’ve enough guys in the squad who have been there before and who know the scenario. We know we have to do a job, we can’t influence anything else other than the 80 minutes we have on Sunday so we’ve got to get ourselves right for it, it is tough at times but you’ve got to put it to bed and worry about your own house.

“Obviously, there’s a couple of games after us. We will also know roughly what we have to do but we’re not going to be worried about it. To be fair, we’ve never been a side that looks past what’s in front of us and Edinburgh is what we’re worried about.”