Tony McGahan’s Munster squad travels to Parc y Scarlets this Saturday (6.30pm) for a key fixture boosted by their gritty win over the Cardiff Blues which saw the defending league champions elevated to a mid-table position in the table.
For several players Saturday’s game offers an ideal opportunity to impress before the province’s Lions contingent, Paul O’Connell, Ronan O’Gara, Keith Earls, David Wallace and Donncha O’Callaghan come back into contention for the September 27 date with the Dragons.
Munster may also be able to call upon the services of at least some players who have been sidelined by injury in recent weeks including Jerry Flannery, Tomas O’Leary, Nick Williams and Paul Warwick.
“This is a massive week for several players who are in the squad to face the Scarlets,” Munster team manager Shaun Payne agreed.
“Potentially, we could have 10 or 11 players coming back into the squad for the Dragons game with the Lions’ available to us as well as the players who are coming back from injury.
“You have Tomas (O’Leary), Jerry Flannery, perhaps Paul Warwick, if he is ready, Nick Williams, and the likes.
“They may not all be available for the fourth round game with the Dragons, but when you combine those who will be fully fit and the Lions, then you can see the competition for places.
“So there will be a lot of guys who are in the squad for the Scarlets game looking for big, big performances.
“There is no way that all of those who are back available to us next week will just walk into the squad.
“That is not the way it is going to happen. I think Tony (McGahan) has made that abundantly clear.
“You play for your place, you are not just given it, although there may be some leeway for the Lions. You cannot expect to walk back in based on reputation. They may well be a few on the bench with one or two starters.
“It will depend on how we manage the numbers. We will cross that bridge next week. Right now we are focused on the Scarlets.”
Payne said a number of players had grabbed their opportunity to impress in recent weeks.
“Yeah, we have been very, very happy with Niall Ronan, for example,” Shaun Payne said.
“He is one of those guys who has been pushing really, really hard for a place in the Heineken Cup side.
“Another one who has been doing really, really well is Felix (Jones). He has a lot more to show. I think Tommy (O’Donnell) and Damien (Varley) have done well when coming on. There will be a lot of calls for the coaching staff to make.
“The Lions are itching to go, especially when they saw the side play well last week.
“We were very happy that (John) Hayes and Quinny (Alan Quinlan) got through the game against Cardiff. Both played really well also.
“Hayes gave a good 40 minutes and came through unscathed.
“I thought Quinny played especially well too. It was typical Quinny, very destructive around the breakdown, playing on the edge, but within the laws.
“All the players were saying that they noticed a big difference with Quinny around given his experience.
“That was one of the major positives for us in terms of those two guys coming back in.”
Tony McGahan has named an unchanged squad of 25 players for the Scarlets game.
McGahan will name his starting XV after tomorrow morning’s training session in Limerick.
Munster squad: Danny Barnes, Felix Jones, Scott Deasy, Denis Hurley, Doug Howlett, Barry Murphy, Tom Gleeson, Lifeimi Mafi, Jeremy Manning, Toby Morland, Peter Stringer, Marcus Horan, Tony Buckley, Julian Brugnaut, John Hayes, Denis Fogarty, Damian Varley, Mick O’Driscoll, Donnacha Ryan, Alan Quinlan, Billy Holland, Tommy O’Donnell, Niall Ronan, Denis Leamy, James Coughlan.
COLM KINSELLA
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