Ian Madigan confident Tom Wood can handle Munster opportunity

Ian Madigan believes Munster out-half prospect Tom Wood can withstand the physicality of professional rugby. Pic: Emilian Baldow/Sportsfile

IAN Madigan is fully backing Tom Wood to step up to the level required by Munster as the province deals with the absence of Jack Crowley until the new year.

Crowley fought his way back into pole position in the pecking order for the Ireland out-half position during this year’s Six Nations. However, the 26-year-old subsequently suffered a rare lower-limb vascular injury and won't return until January at the earliest.

Without the influential playmaker and new signing Will Harrison, who suffered a recurrence of a knee injury, Munster will turn to the experience of JJ Hanrahan but also to academy players Wood and Charlie O'Shea, who are both 20 years of age.

Wood, the son of legendary former Munster and Ireland hooker Keith, has only one URC appearance under his belt, having played against Glasgow Warriors in January. However, the Garryowen clubman underlined the talent that has marked him out as a future star for the province in last week’s pre-season defeat by La Rochelle.

Wood, along with 13 others, came on at half-time and he guided the Reds to an improved display. “Look, losing Jack Crowley, he’s probably their most important player,” said Madigan. “Not necessarily their best player, but their most important player.

“But that’s going to provide opportunities, and I’m excited to see what Tom Wood can do. I was impressed with him as an underage player.

“Two years with the Ireland 20s is a fine achievement in itself, and he really stepped up in his second year. A good pre-season will probably see him filling out a bit physically. He’s a tall guy, kicks the ball well and he’s a very good passer.

“I’d expect to see him being given some opportunities early. The only way you can say if someone’s ready is by seeing it - it’s very hard to predict if someone is going to be ready. The key part would be whether he is physically going to be able to withstand the professional game. Absolutely, he will. He’s a really physical guy.” 

Madigan believes Munster’s opening home URC fixtures against Glasgow and the Bulls are hugely important. The 37-year-old predicts that, once again, not all four Irish provinces will make the top-eight play-offs by the end of the regular season.

After Munster came close to missing the cut-off in the last two campaigns, Madigan believes this could be the season they miss out if they make a poor start.

“We’re seeing more and more the importance of those home games,” said Madigan, the former Ireland, Leinster, Bordeaux, Bristol and Ulster number 10.

“Suddenly, if you lose at home, you’re playing round three and you’re under immense pressure, so it’s really crucial. If they win those early games, as they did last year, that sets them up for success.

“They weren’t able to get out of their group in Europe, which was obviously very disappointing and something that they’ll always set their sights on. For a side like Munster, off the back of two mediocre seasons, round one becomes really important.” 

He added: “But look, the reality is with Munster, they’ve kind of stumbled their way into the top eight of the URC the last two seasons. Full credit to them, they were able to pull it out of the bag, but they’ll be setting a higher bar for themselves.

“Munster are going to have to be more effective against those mid-table sides. They lost too many of those games last year.”