Injured Munster players 'expected to work extremely hard'

With the RaboDirect PRO 12 season entering a two-week break, players have a chance to enjoy some downtime - but Munster’s strength and conditioning coach Aidan O’Connell insists it will be business as usual for players looking to recover from injuries.

O’Connell, who operates out of Munster’s base in CIT, works in conjunction with Tom Comyns based in Limerick to get Munster’s wounded back on their feet as quickly as possible.

The Ballyclough man admits this week will be just as demanding for those with injuries as any other while the rest of the squad enjoy the break.

“Players who are injured have had to stay around,” O’Connell told MunsterRugby.ie. “So I’m working with Darragh Hurley (achilles), Peter Borlase (lower back), Ivan Dineen (achilles) and Tomas O’Leary (back), and we’re using this week like any other and training away.”

“It’s obviously a quieter week without the rest of the squad around but we still have six to eight sessions during the week with the same schedule taking place in Limerick.

“Anyone who is injured in Munster Rugby works damn hard. It’s not a nice place to be on two fronts for these guys, one because you’re injured, two because you’re expected to work extremely hard and it’s a pretty uncomfortable place to be.”

While these sessions are designed to enhance the physicality of players, O’Connell believes they also test the mental side of the game forcing individuals to remain focused and determined.

“We do our best to accelerate their recovery but we have to give them a focus when they are in here which means training at a high intensity whether you are fit or injured and it certainly asks a lot of your motivation.

“In saying that there’s a really strong training ethos and the players certainly push themselves whether injured or not.”

As for the rest of the squad, they may have escaped O’Connell’s training sessions for a week but he hasn’t let them off the hook completely.

“Those lads away on the rest week, whether they are abroad sunning themselves or here, were given a comprehensive training programme for the week which is a maintenance programme with the idea being they won’t lose fitness during the week.”