Kilcoyne keen to hit the ground running

Dave Kilcoyne will re-enter the Munster fray on Friday, eager to carry renewed Ireland momentum into the new season.

After a successful summer tour to Argentina, the loosehead prop is set to make his seasonal debut at Thomond Park against Zebre.

The 25-year-old will rejoin a Munster team looking to build on their opening victory of the Guinness Pro12 campaign on Friday in Treviso with a first home win.

And while the province are looking to atone for their opening game defeat by Edinburgh at Thomond Park, Kilcoyne is seeking a fast start to his own campaign.

After the rave reviews of his breakthrough 2012-13 season that led to an Ireland debut under Declan Kidney, Kilcoyne found himself facing competition from all sides last term as James Cronin emerged as a provincial rival and Leinster’s Jack McGrath found favour with new national coach Joe Schmidt as first-choice Cian Healy’s Test stand-in.

Omitted from the Ireland squad for the November Tests, he took his medicine, continued to grind and gradually got his rewards, earning a place on the season’s RaboDirect Pro12 Dream Team while also being named in the extended Six Nations squad before playing two Tests in Argentina.

“I was delighted to be back in the Ireland fold,” Kilcoyne said. “So I was very happy with that after how last season finished, not so much the losses with Munster, but with my form and I just want to bring that into this season.

“I was very disappointed to miss out on the autumn internationals but then you get a bit of a boost, you’re involved for the Six Nations in the extended squad and you get further again and then you go on tour and end up starting the last Test. I guess it’s just about keeping your head down and keep working as hard, keep trying to turn up every week and show how hungry and eager you are to get that number one jersey.”

Not that the competition has gone away, least of all Cronin, his younger team-mate who burst on the scene last season and earned his Test debut as a replacement in the second victory over the Pumas.

Cronin made his season bow last week in Treviso, laying down his marker for the season with Kilcoyne desperately keen to respond in kind.

“There’s always things to work on and hopefully I’ll show at the weekend that I can keep putting my best foot forward. I think the team put in a very good performance over in Treviso. They have been our bogey team and we found them a very difficult side and they put two big wins against us. I think the lads really fronted up physically. I’m just trying to get in there and add to that physical presence this weekend. Zebre’s an excellent opportunity and I’m going to try to be as physically dominant as I possibly can and keep my place for the following week.”