Paul O’Connell remains a Munster injury doubt

TEAM captain Paul O’Connell remains a major injury worry for Munster’s big Heineken Cup semi-final clash with Biarritz Olympique in San Sebastian on Sunday (3.15pm Irish time) - Munster coach Tony McGahan said O’Connell remained in a race against the clock to be fit for the crunch clash at the Estadio Anoeta.
However, coach McGahan expects Munster’s other main injury worries, Keith Earls, Doug Howlett, Ian Dowling and Nick Williams, to be available for selection for the big game which is a repeat of the 2006 Heineken Cup final.


“We are very hopeful that Ian Dowling and Doug Howlett will be available for selection. Nick Williams should be OK. Paul O’Connell is still in a race against the clock at this point in time. We’re doing everything possible to get him into the frame to play. But more importantly Paul needs to be in the frame to train because he hasn’t played for a long time. That’s the first obstacle, to train, then it’s a selection matter. Keith Earls should be OK too.”
Munster maintained their grip of the fourth and final play-off spot in the Magners League table despite suffering a disappointing 11-15 home defeat to the Ospreys at Thomond Park on Saturday night. However, the blow of suffering a first defeat to Welsh opposition at Thomond Park for six years, was softened by news of play-off chasing Edinburgh’s defeat by Ulster.
Munster currently enjoy a four-point lead over fifth-placed Cardiff Blues and sixth-placed Edinburgh. Munster face the Blues in Cardiff in their final regular season fixture on the weekend of May 7-9.
Munster’s Heineken Cup semi-final opponents Biarritz suffered a 19-26 home defeat to Clermont Auvergne in the French Top 14 at the weekend, but Munster coach McGahan believes current form counts for little in a knock-out game such as Sunday’s.
“At this stage I don’t really know if the current form holds any water. It’s a one-off game, it’s a semi-final,” Tony McGahan insisted.
“You saw that when we played Leinster here, close, but a little off the mark. But we came out and played well the following week (against Northampton). All teams have the capability of doing that. We have shown that this year where we have had a disappointing result whether it has been the week before rounds one and two in the Heineken Cup or before the back-to-back fixtures at round three and four in the competition that we have certainly come back.
“We have some guys to come back into the squad. We will certainly re-group. We know that next week is what it is all about for us this year. We are really targetting the Heineken Cup.
“We want to get a result in the semi-final to go one step further than we did last year. We want to put ourselves in with the chance of collecting some silverware,” Tony McGahan said.
Meanwhile, the Munster ‘A’ side are looking forward to facing the Cornish Pirates in the inaugural British and Irish Cup final at the Camborne Recreation Ground on Sunday, May 16 after disposing of the challenge of the Ulster Ravens at Thomond Park on Saturday. The final will be televised live by Sky Sports. On the club front, UL Bohemian are celebrating back-to-back wins in the Munster Junior Cup after recording an exciting 13-6 final victory over city rivals Young Munster at Dooradoyle yesterday.

COLM KINSELLA