Leamy sees no rust in Leinster armour as Munster prepare for Croke Park clash

Denis Leamy has been part of big days in Croke Park with Ireland, Munster, and Tipperary. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady
Denis Leamy has been a part of some great days at Croke Park and he has urged his Munster players to embrace the challenge facing them there this Saturday against Leinster or “go and do something else”.
Munster, under new head coach Clayton McMillan, are one of only two unbeaten teams left alongside the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship with three wins from three but this weekend’s trip to Dublin represents the toughest appointment yet as Leinster prepare to reintegrate another raft of Test stars to their ranks.
It will be McMillan’s first interprovincial derby of his tenure since joining from Super Rugby’s Chiefs this summer but for defence coach Leamy it is a well-worn path that demands both respect and bravery of the protagonists. A back-row veteran of Ireland’s historic first matches at GAA headquarters in 2007 and a losing European semi-finalist with Munster two years later, Leamy was also performance coach with his native Tipperary when they claimed the Liam MacCarthy Cup against Kilkenny in 2016.
His visit as a member of the Munster coaching ticket 12 months ago ended in a 26-12 defeat to eventual URC title winners Leinster, while Leo Cullen’s men completed back-to-back league doubles against their southern neighbours the following December at Thomond Park, a fourth straight defeat since Jack Crowley’s drop goal edged the 2023 URC semi-final at Aviva Stadium in Munster’s favour.
That was just the fourth Munster win in this fixture in their 25 meetings since December 2015 but Leamy insisted the annual trip into Leinster’s backyard still carries plenty of weight and was a stiff challenge his players will have to front.
“There’s a great respect between the teams which is really good. The players would have great relationships off the pitch… certainly it is far more professional and process-driven (but) it never goes…from our point of view, it is always a challenge going to Dublin,” Leamy said on Monday.
“Every time someone is going to Dublin, they’ll be hugely respectful and pay them a lot of compliments which are all deserved. They are the best team in the league. They’ve had a huge amount of Irish players away in the summer, a huge amount of Lions. It’s a massive challenge for us to go up there, and be really, really respectful of Leinster.
“But we want to go up there and face that challenge, meet that challenge head-on. Tough environments, tough places to go. That’s exactly what you want and that will test our squad. And that’s the game we’re in.
“And unless we’re willing and able for that challenge, go and do something else. These are the games you put yourself out there. The training you do. The pre-seasons you do. The sacrifices you make. These are the games where you then go out and put your best foot forward and try to create something special.”
Leamy scoffed at the suggestion Leo Cullen’s job of reintroducing the rest of Leinster’s available Lions contingent and South African double World Cup winner RG Snyman this weekend could lead to a less than cohesive performance from the URC champions. Referencing their 31-5 home victory over the Sharks last Saturday, when Cullen handed seasonal debuts to five of his 13-strong 2025 Lions contingent at Aviva Stadium among others and was rewarded with a first win of the season, Leamy said: “It didn’t look like they had a lack of cohesion on Saturday evening when I watched them against the Sharks.
“I thought their returning players were awesome. James Lowe, Jamie Osborne, (Ciaran) Frawley, Harry Byrne did well. They controlled the game, controlled the tempo. They didn’t look rusty to me.
“It definitely focused the minds and then when you see the quality which will return on top of that at the weekend. It definitely focuses attention and reminds you of how good you have to be to beat them.”
Munster have fresh concerns over tighthead prop Oli Jager, who was withdrawn following a head knock in the first half of last Friday’s 20-19 round-three win over Edinburgh in Cork while McMillan is set to issue updates on the availability for Saturday of scrum-half Craig Casey (hamstring), Niall Scannell (hand), Shane Daly (head) and Tom Ahern when he faces the media on Thursday. Speaking ahead of the Munster coaches’ selection meeting on Monday evening, Leamy said club captain Tadhg Beirne was available for his seasonal debut after a Player of the Series set of performances for the Lions against Australia.
“Tadhg trained today so, so far so good,” the defence coach said. “We’ll sit down later and decide if this is the game to bring him back in. My understanding is that he’s fit and available for selection.
“He's been very good, he's been very relaxed and some of his contributions in meetings have been very insightful. His understanding of the game is so strong. He's a very, very intelligent rugby player and some of his contributions over the last six weeks have been very interesting.
“I think we're all learning a little bit from him. He's been a real bonus. He's a leader, obviously, but he's somebody that's driving standards.”