Jack O’Donoghue backs Munster's new leaders to fill void left by key players

EMERGING LEADERS: Munster's Jack O'Donoghue during a training session. Pic: ©INPHO/Tom O’Hanlon

Jack O’Donoghue has defended Munster’s ability to succeed without key leaders by endorsing the example set by the growing stature of Jack Crowley and Craig Casey.

Munster head into the final round of the URC regular season against Lions at Thomond Park on Saturday night missing captain Tadhg Beirne and a host of other senior frontline players as they bid to hang on to their top eight position in the standings and reach the end of season play-offs.

Beirne’s knee injury sustained on April 25 against Ulster adds to the unprecedented levels of experience lost in recent seasons with the retirements of Steven Archer, Keith Earls, Dave Kilcoyne, Conor Murray and Peter O’Mahony all departing the dressing room as retirees.

John Ryan and Niall Scannell are set to follow them into retirement in the coming weeks while injury has deprived head coach Clayton McMillan of not just his captain but also South African World Cup winner Jean Kleyn and centre Tom Farrell, amongst others, for the final rounds of the URC regular season.

Munster’s bid to secure a top-half finish in the standings which will secure play-off rugby this season and Champions Cup qualification for 2026-27 has been thwarted by those injuries.

They were certainly missed at Galway’s Dexcom Stadium last Saturday as Connacht kept their season alive in the penultimate round of league fixtures with a vital 26-7 derby win over their off-colour southern neighbours.

Yet back-rower O’Donoghue, who has been a Munster match captain in recent seasons, believes half-backs Casey and Crowley, set to return form a leg injury to the number 10 jersey this Saturday night, have spearheaded a new generation of players who are developing into team leaders.

“I see a lot of growth in the group,” O’Donoghue said. "I would have spoken back in pre-season, and I said there'd be new leaders emerging and look at Jack Crowley, you know. Look at how he's built his game throughout the season, getting back in with Ireland, the performances he's put down in Benetton, in Ulster.

“There's a fella who's grown tenfold in terms of his leadership, in terms of his game. Craig, captaining the side, like, these lads have emerged. They've always been there, but they've slowly being mentored.

“You know, chatting with Pete, the Murrays, you know, the likes of that, who have now stepped away, it's just opened the door for them to progress into it and step forward, and yeah, Tadhg picked up an injury but it gives Craig an opportunity to lead the team out, and what Craig does unbelievably well is his positivity, his actions.

“He leaves no stone unturned throughout the week, and you have 100 per cent faith running out behind him that he's going to give his all, and you want to do the exact same for him. That's the beauty of the squad and the age demographic of it, and I think having those lads stepping away, by all means, there is a void, but this season is slowly filling that void.”

The 32-year-old back-rower is a leader in his own right with 237 appearances for his province to date but O’Donoghue credits McMillan with revitalising his career and cites him a “huge” reason he has signed a new one-year contract for next season. He is also desperate for the former Chiefs boss to stick around.

“You never want to be going into a new season with question marks over what's going to happen. But, you know, I'm full of confidence in Clayton and what he's doing and absolutely want him to be here.

“He's the right man for the job. He's going to bring us places, and that's my opinion. And I think that certainly, hopefully the wider group, he feels that amongst that and that's going to be the case and he's going to be here for many years to come and it’s going to be really excited to see what he can do and to bring.

“Huge. Yeah, absolutely. Him coming in has kind of given a fresh start, a fresh opportunity for me to impress. I like the way he goes about his business. I like what he stands for, and I think the game he wants to play and how we go about it, it's certainly rejuvenated me and sign on for another year.

“I'm absolutely delighted to be here and to be playing for another year and look, see what happens in a year's time. If there's more to come, so be it. Absolutely, I think it's a great place to be. Why wouldn't I want to keep doing what I love doing?”