Fogarty: Ireland can benefit from Munster kicking Leinster where it hurts

Assistant Ireland coach John Fogarty believes a wake-up call for the bulk of the Irish squad may prove a positive.

Ireland assistant coach John Fogarty during a Ireland Rugby media conference at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Wither Leinster, wither Ireland? No-one in Andy Farrell’s national camp, which departs Dublin for Chicago on Tuesday, believes that to be the case, despite the “kick in the arse” delivered to them by Munster at Croke Park on Saturday.

As good as Munster, spearheaded by returning captain Tadhg Beirne and fly-half Jack Crowley, were in delivering a 31-14 bonus-point URC victory at GAA headquarters on the weekend, a stacked Leinster side’s no-show in this derby victory was a concern, given they are bulk suppliers to Farrell’s Test squad.