Jerry Flannery on the Grand Slam: ‘You only really appreciate the magnitude of it when you look back’

Jerry Flannery was a member of the Irish team which completed the Six Nations Grand Slam in 2009. An outstanding hooker who helped Munster to win the Heineken Cup in 2006 and 2008, he represented Ireland on 41 occasions. Ahead of Ireland’s bid for more Grand Slam glory on Saturday he spoke to Charlie Mulqueen

Charlie Mulqueen: Was there any expectation of such a fantastic campaign before a ball was kicked back in 2009?

Jerry Flannery: None whatsoever. In the autumn, we had beaten Fiji and Argentina and lost to New Zealand and it was really all about getting the group together under the new coaching team, Deccie (Kidney), Gert (Smaal), Les (Kiss) and Alan Gaffney. It was a completely new regime.