Denis Leamy: 'It's not all on the three boys either returning, everyone has to come to the party'

Munster are boosted by the return of Irish internationals Tadhg Beirne, Peter O'Mahony and Jack Crowley this weekend.

Fri, 04 Oct, 2024 - 06:11

Simon Lewis

After the week Munster have had at the sharp end of some stinging criticism following their abject performance and defeat at Zebre Parma, there will be relief at the appearances of Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony and Jack Crowley on the team-sheet to face Ospreys this Saturday.

All three Ireland stars, including former captain O’Mahony and his newly-minted successor Beirne, are expected to be named in the matchday squad set to be announced at noon on Friday ahead of the following evening’s URC round three match-up at Cork’s Virgin Media Park and their seasonal debuts could not be better timed, not least for defence coach Denis Leamy.

Last Saturday’s 42-33 loss in Italy was painful for Munster players, management and supporters alike, a historic first defeat to Zebre in 20 meetings pockmarked by a litany of errors and a dramatic fall-off from the defensive displays of the previous two seasons under Leamy’s watch.

The opening-round derby win over Connacht seven days earlier had seen Munster concede five tries to the westerners at Thomond Park but still emerge 35-33 victors but the defensive lapses evident in Limerick were magnified at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi and the end of the summer’s Irish tourists’ IRFU-enforced post-season break could not come quick enough.

"Yeah, it's brilliant, isn't it,” Leamy said on Tuesday, “to have the internationals returning and obviously people like Peter O'Mahony, Tadhg, someone like Peter has seen it all, he's had such a long career and there's no emotion in this game or scenario that he hasn't seen and Tadhg likewise.

"Jack Crowley adding his enthusiasm and his considerable knowledge, so we're very lucky to have them coming back and we welcome them back.

"Hopefully they'll give us a little bit more and the players of course will respond to them as well, the guys who have been there for the last few weeks.

"But it's not all on the three boys either returning, everyone has to come to the party. It's about everyone's performance. We've got to make each other look good.”

That said, the experience of Beirne and O’Mahony in particular will be invaluable as Munster attempts to turn a corner against their play-off quarter-final opponents of last June.

“The white heat of battle is very interesting, that’s why they’re the best players – they’re good in that battle sense.

“In some ways, whatever happens during the week and in the build-up to a game… in some ways, a player can be relaxed and not brilliant trainers, but what happens in that 80 minutes decides whether you’re a great player or not.

“And those two and Jack hopefully is on his way, they’re great players; they’ve been great players for Munster and for Ireland and in the heat of battle they’ve got a calmness, a violence, a skillset and an athleticism.

“They’ve got an ability to call on whatever weapon they need in any given moment and that’s the beauty in having players like that, their experience is great for us at the weekend. A big bonus.”

Leamy added there was collective responsibility being taken for the dismal defensive performances of the first two rounds and insisted the defensive lapses that have led to 11 tries conceded, and 20-plus missed tackles in both of those games did not reflect the squad’s abilities without the ball.

"Look, we're well able to defend. We're the best URC defensive side for two years running, that doesn't happen by accident.

"There's a lot of good sides in this League. Leinster are arguably the best team in Europe, year in, year out, you've got the South African sides with their different types of defence.

"There's so many different types of defence within the League but we have topped it two years running in terms of lowest points conceded.

"We have to, in many ways, trust what we're capable of. We don't become a bad defensive side overnight, albeit you're only as good as your last game.

"So the types of tries we've conceded around the ruck is just not us. Everything we speak about, we take huge pride in our interior D and we've made poor mistakes there that guys fully understand and are accountable and responsible for.

"You ask these guys to be honest and they put their hands up straightaway, 'that's on me, I got it wrong, I made a mistake'.

"And we'll work in terms of all the different pictures and all these things, and as I said earlier we'll fully trust that we will get back on track and become a much meaner defence.” end