OUTSIDE of being slagged off about his Dublin accent from time to time and having to pay for this flatmates’ dinners after losing at darts, new Munster signing Andrew Conway is settling in well to life in Limerick.
“I love it here. The people are great and the squad has been great to me. I am living with Johne Murphy and Ian Keatley at the moment, so life is good. The Limerick based players are all within two miles of each other, so there is a great environment here both on and off the field,” commented the 22 year old winger.
The decision to move from Leinster to Munster was not an easy one to take, however Conway took his time over the decision and is grateful for that now.
“I felt it was the right time for me to move. I wanted to play outside of my comfort zone and set myself some challenges. There have been a few lads who have made the switch before me, so I knew what to expect from talking to them and I also knew a lot of the existing Munster lads from playing against them with Leinster and with them at underage with Ireland,” added the former Blackrock College schools’ star.
The move to Munster was one which raised a few eyebrows in both provinces. Munster and Leinster fans alike could not believe that a player of such quality would be allowed to leave. With more and more Irish players looking to move abroad, Conway was no different in exploring all avenues available to him before deciding on making the move down the M7.
“When you are making a decision like this, you have to have all your options open. It is a business now, rugby, and my agent was putting offers on the table for me. I wanted to have as many as I could, so I could make the right decision and strengthen my hand. I met with Rob Penney, Simon Mannix and Niall O’Donovan and I was really impressed with what they were doing down here. I weighed up all my options and I feel that Munster is the best place for me at this time.”
Leinster’s loss is certainly Munster’s gain and Conway is setting his sights no further than securing a starting spot for Munster.
“I picked up an injury in the pre-season game against Gloucester and I have not been 100 per cent right since. I took another bang to my ribs last weekend against Glasgow and the medical staff made the call to take me off after I was taking too long to get back into the game after contact. I just want to get myself fit and ready, so I can put myself forward for a starting spot. There is a lot of competition for places at Munster and that is a great thing. We are top of the RaboDirect League and we are in the Heineken cup, so to make the team has to be my short and long term goal. That is why I moved here in,” Conway continued.
Hopefully the five foot 10 inch winger will not be off the field for too long, as his time off can prove to be expensive.
“I’m the late arrival to the house I am in, so I am two years behind on darts practice. The loser has to pay for dinner and so far I have been paying for Keats (Ian Keatley) and Johne Murphy’s dinners way too often. With the two training centres at the moment, there is actually less spare time than there was at Leinster, with the travel etceteras, so I don’t really get that much off. Any days off, I try and get to see my friends and family in Dublin. Anything really to avoid the darts,” laughs the 88kg speedster.
Conway is to be assessed this week to see if he is available for inclusion in the Munster squad for their RaboDirect Pro12 clash with the Ospreys on Saturday November 2 at Thomond Park. Kick off at 7.15pm, televised on TG4.
