KEITH Earls has been named in Munster’s squad for this Sunday’s Heineken Cup Pool One game against the LLanelli Scarlets. The Irish international has been out of action for Munster since the RaboDirect Pro 12 game against Leinster on November 4 last. Speaking ahead of this weekend’s game, (kick off 12.45 on Sunday) Munster head coach Tony Mc Gahan was still thinking over the option of playing Keith this week.
“He is back training with us. As we speak he is available, but he as only two sessions under his belt. We would have liked to have played him in an ‘A’ game to see how he was, but there is still a chance he could play”.
With Munster still without the services of Felix Jones and with Doug Howlett out for the season, Munster are light in the back three department, but Mc Gahan does not feel the need to rush Earls back, as the players playing at present have done a good job in his place.
“With the internationals out, Johne Murphy, Simon Zebo and Denis Hurley have all played well. To have a player like Keith back is something special for us. However, the strength in this squad has been shown by how well the younger players have taken their opportunity”
Improvement
With Munster sitting atop the Pool with three wins from three, one would be forgiven for thinking that Munster would be happy with their lot. Mc Gahan however sees that there is definitely room for improvement.
“There is no facet of the game from last week that we would tick the box and say we are happy with it and we do not need to improve there. Yes the scrum was good, but there are several areas that need to be improved on. At the breakdown we need to be more competitive. The Scarlets were able to take out our support players too easy at the breakdown and that is something we will need to work on for Sunday”.
Heineken Cup Weekends
Limerick and Munster come alive for Heineken Cup weekends and the players and management are looking forward to this weekend as much as the fans. Mc Gahan however doesn’t exactly look forward to the game. “I don’t have any good feelings on Heinken Cup weeks to be honest”, quips the Aussie. “With the way our Pool is set up and with the teams that are in it, I think that this weekend is as crucial as week one versus Northampton and it will be like that all the way through to the final game. I know that this group can be tipped either way with one result or another. We know what Scarlets can bring and that they would have liked to have played better than they did last weekend. We need to be ready for that this weekend. We, as a team, need to push on first and foremost”, continued the head coach.
Munster’s captain Paul O’Connell admits that early Sunday kick offs are not easy to get prepared for. “You would have to get up early for a few mornings before the game to make sure that waking up on Sunday early does not come as a shock. It is handy to have a 20 month old son in the house for those ones”, chuckles the man of the match from last weekend.
“The early kick off is a little weird, but that is part and parcel of the modern game. It might involve some pasta eating at 9am, but it will be the same for Scarlets as it will be for us. I just look forward to these games more and more. The kick off time might be weird for the fans too, but we hope to be able to give them something to shout about from the start this weekend. Unlike last weekend”.
Tight Games
The win for Munster last weekend over Scarlets was once more hard fought. Munster are now three from three, but the winning margin in all three games is just eight points. O’Connell is looking for more of an 80 minute performance this weekend, but at the end of the day, a win.
“We showed excellent patience at the end last week, but we left the Scarlets into the game too early. We were too many points down too early and the stats on these games shows that we should have lost to an early lead like that. We know that they will be coming over here all guns blazing this weekend, so we need to start from the start this weekend and build from there. The three wins so far have not been classics, but we have had to fight for everything and we you are fighting for tight wins like that you have to be doing something right. It is not ideal to be winning by such short margins, but the guys that are coming into the squad are stepping up to the plate and going beyond it in places. I think there is a great attitude in the squad at present and when you have to call on lads who have been waiting for their opportunity for three years, and they take the chance, it is very satisfactory and enjoyable”.
Man of the Match
In what many are calling O’Connell’s best match ever for Munster, last weekend’s performance from the former Lions captain is not going to his head.
“I think the ball just came my way a lot last weekend. You can play games like that sometimes where you get the ball a lot and you get a lot of carries. I managed to get across the gain line a few times and I suppose I just stuck out more than usual. That was great for me. To get a run of match fitness was great, and then again, as I said, next week I might not even get to touch the ball”.
Scrum Time
When asked if his performance was buoyed on by the performance of the Munster scrum, O’Connell was quick to concur.
“Certainly the scrum is massive. You can turn over a line-out and it can often be messy ball. Your scrum half has to scramble for it. If you turn over or dominate a scrum these days and it often ends up with a penalty. That can then result in a kick 50 metres down the pitch or a kick at goal, so the scrum really is vital part of the game. Fair play to the lads. (Front Row Union) They have been doing a lot of work on it and it gives you a great boost when they can turn a scrum into points or field position”.
The ‘Bull’
Speaking of scrum time, it now appears that John Hayes’ time at Munster is coming to an end. Munster could not be drawn this week on an exact end date, but with Munster playing Connacht on St Stephen’s night, it would appear that night could yet be announced as John Hayes’ swan song. A fitting end.
Munster Squad
Marcus Horan, Wian du Preez, Stephen Archer, John Hayes, BJ Botha, Denis Fogarty, Damien Varley., Donncha O’Callaghan, Donnacha Ryan, Paul O’Connell, Mick O’Driscoll, Ian Nagle, Billy Holland, Denis Leamy, Niall Ronan, James Coughlan, Tommy O’Donnell, Tomas O’Leary, Conor Murray, Ian Keatley, Ronan O’Gara, Johne Murphy, Denis Hurley, Scott Deasy, Simon Zebo,Will Chambers, Lifeimi Mafi, Danny Barnes, Keith Earls.
