Standing in the way of Munster’s appearance in the Magners League Grand Final later this month are arch rivals Leinster. The Irish provinces come face-to-face in a glamour semi-final clash at the RDS this Saturday evening (8pm).
Munster have suffered defeat in each of their last three meetings with Leinster including a 30-0 drubbing at the hands of Michael Cheika’s men on their most recent Magners League visit to the RDS in October.
Munster have been installed as 6/4 outsiders with the bookies to prevail in this Saturday’s tie and that seems like a fair quote from the layers. 8/15 favourites Leinster bounced back from their Heineken Cup semi-final defeat to Toulouse in impressive fashion against Edinburgh last weekend.
And Munster’s long list of injury worries is another reason why the home side deserved the tag of favourites this weekend.
Coach McGahan delayed naming his squad for Saturday’s until this Wednesday as a result of on-going injury doubts over several key players. Winger Ian Dowling and captain Paul O’Connell have already been ruled out of Saturday’s tie. Keith Earls is rated a doubtful starter for the clash due to an on-going groin injury.
Coach McGahan is hopeful that the vastly experienced winger Doug Howlett will be available for the trip to Dublin. The coach is also keeping his fingers crossed that hooker Jerry Flannery, who missed the weekend defeat to the Cardiff Blues as a result of a calf strain and lock Mick O’Driscoll, who has been troubled with an ankle injury, will both be fit for selection. The Munster management team also moved to refute earlier media reports suggesting Paul O’Connell had undergone surgery for his on-going groin injury. In a statement, a Munster spokesman indicated that O’Connell was admitted to hospital in Cork in order to facilitate the application of antibiotics for an infection related to his groin injury.
Prop John Hayes, who was rested for Sunday’s trip to Cardiff, will return to the squad this weekend.
Coach McGahan said the players had been boosted by their gritty performance at the Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday when the losing bonus point secured against the Blues in a one-point defeat ensured their passage to the play-offs.
“Look, it’s been an OK season, but the real goal for us is to finish with silverware and we have to give ourselves every opportunity with 80 tough minutes on Saturday,” Tony McGahan said this week in UL.
“We haven’t shied away from the fact that we have been inconsistent this particular season.
“We’ve had some excellent days out, but, at the same time, we’ve certainly let ourselves down with inconsistency right across the park.
“It hasn’t been limited to one or two areas, it’s been set-piece perspective, it’s been attack, it’s been defence, it’s been breakdown, it’s been goal-kicking, it’s been field-kicking. We haven’t really been able to gel everything together. We’ve reached a semi-final in the Heineken Cup, we’re into a semi-final in the Magners League, and we’ve got a final with the A team at the weekend. I think in the weekend game with Cardiff - even though we didn’t win - we had done enough to get the result and that has certainly given the squad a big boost.
“Heading into a semi final weekend, in Dublin, there is plenty to be pleased about and we are certainly looking forward to that aspect of it . . .
“I think the kicking game is going to be a huge part of the weekend.
“Leinster certainly demonstrated over the last number of years and especially so in this particular year their physicality in their carrying and the physicality in their defence. So that’s going to be a real area for us.”
Leinster captain Leo Cullen misses Saturday’s game due to a shoulder injury. However, out-half Jonathan Sexton, who sustained a broken jaw in the Heineken Cup quarter-final win over Clermont Auvergne, is included in the squad for Saturday’s showdown.
Iarnrod Eireann have announced that they will provide a return train service from Dublin to Limerick for Munster supporters. The auxiliary train will depart Heuston Station at 11.15pm calling at Thurles, Limerick Junction and Limerick. Further details at: www.irishrail.ie
Sam Tuitupou
Meanwhile Munster have confirmed that Worcester Warriors centre Sam Tuitupou will join them - subject to the usual medical and fitness examinations - at the start of the next season along with Leicester Tigers and Ireland Wolfhounds winger Johne Murphy. Twenty-eight-year-old Tuitupou played nine times for the All Blacks between 2004 and 2006 and was a regular for Auckland Blues in the Super 14 before moving to English side Worcester in 2007.
Back row Tommy O’Donnell, prop Dave Ryan and scrum half Duncan Williams have moved up from development contracts to senior contracts as Munster finalise their squad for next season. O’Donnell, Ryan and Williams have all featured for Munster in the Magners League this season. Academy players Ian Nagle, Dave Foley, Stephen Archer, Scott Deasy, Peter O’Mahony and Danny Barnes have been promoted to full development contracts with the province.
Training-contracted player Declan Cusack, of Thomond, who is Munster’s top scorer in the British & Irish Cup, has also been impressing the province’s management. The exciting out-half has been bumped up to a full development contract.
Young Munster
Meanwhile Young Munster were chosen as Senior Club of the Year Munster Rugby’s annual awards which took place on Sunday night.
Munsters’ scooped the award on the back of an excellent season which saw the Clifford Park club gain promotion to Division 1A of the AIL, as well as claiming the ODM Munster Senior Cup and Limerick Charity Cup.
Mick O’Driscoll was selected as the Munster Player of the Year beating off Keith Earls, David Wallace and Denis Fogarty for the award. O’Driscoll was selected as the award winner by readers of the Irish Examiner. Scott Deasy claimed the Academy Player of the Year Award, while the Young Player of the Year accolade went to Billy Holland. The School of the Year award went to Crescent College Comprehensive, winners of this season’s Munster Schools Junior Cup. The Dooradoyle school also claimed the Kidney and McCarthy Cups.
Thomond won the Club Mini Awards for the excellent work the club does with budding young players aged between 6 and 12.
The club’s youth officer John Airey plays a key role in the development of Thomond’s under-age players.
Munster A
THE Munster A squad is gearing up for Sunday’s British and Irish Cup final showdown with the Cornish Pirates at the Camborne Recreation Ground. Kick-off for the final is at 6pm and the game will be televised live on Sky Sports.
Munster remain the only unbeaten side in the inaugural British & Irish Cup, having won all six of their encounters in the competition so far.
The run has been based on a formidable defensive effort which has seen the Munstermen yield just three tries in 480 minutes playing time.
Sunday’s opponents, the Cornish Pirates, finished in 6th place in the RFU Championship table this season but could not progress through their play-off pool to reach the semi-final stage. The Pirates’ only victory in their last four matches in all competitions was the semi-final triumph in the British & Irish Cup at home to Doncaster Knights.
Colm Kinsella
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