MAGNERS LEAGUE MUNSTER:THE PROFILE of the Munster-Leinster derby may have changed beyond recognition in the last decade but Tony McGahan wasn't about to get over-exercised about Saturday night's encounter.
It may be attracting a sell-out crowd to the new Lansdowne Road but it remains game five of the Magners League. The world won’t change because of this result. In naming his 28-man squad yesterday, McGahan maintained the policy of peppering up-and-coming names around the usual list of Munster veterans.
“No surprises. Not to me anyway,” he deadpanned as his squad sheet was handed around. “I think we have had younger guys playing since the Leicester game – I don’t think we didn’t do anything different; trying to integrate the squad and give people a chance to play and push themselves for selection and hence we find this is our strongest 23 at this point in time with injuries and what not.”
McGahan may have been inspired by the framed poser of Paul Newman as Cool Hand Luke on the wall above the restaurant where the squad announcement took place because he did not bat an eyelid when asked if recent form was anything to go by.
“Not really. The only thing you can judge an opposition side is how they turn up and how you play them. It is the same as if we were playing Connacht or Ulster. We don’t draw any conclusions from where they are on the table. We are expecting them to be on their best on Saturday and they will be expecting the best from us.”
If the sight of Munster running out at the new Aviva Stadium does not stir Leinster, then nothing will. McGahan has reason to be cautious and he agreed the Munster management had trawled through their recent Heineken Cup defeats to Leinster to try to rectify where and how things had gone wrong.
“You can’t argue with history or the stats. They have four wins over the last four encounters and us zero so there is no arguments with that. It is always a motivation when you lose against anyone but especially when you lose to someone close to you. . . . This game will be judged on its own merits and in its own environment – playing at the Aviva Stadium.”
The sheer occasion surrounding Saturday night’s game is another vivid example of the startlingly robust health of Irish rugby. Neither hefty ticket prices nor the fact this is “just” a Magners League game have diminished interest. McGahan gave a guarded vote of appreciation of what promises to be the first big spectacle of the Irish rugby season.
“I can only speak for myself but I don’t know what it means filling the stadium – you have to think the Leinster organisation have a lot of confidence to bring the game there so they obviously think that they can fill it and get a result there. We are looking forward to it. Without a doubt, to fill any stadium of that size is a testimony to where the game is in the country and in Europe and it is a tremendous testament to the quality of players in this country.”
McGahan agreed the prospect of this match had brought an added edge to Munster’s training sessions and with international squad selection due, minds will be sharpened ahead of this encounter. But Leinster’s teething problems so far make them a difficult read for Munster.
“I think it is a little bit difficult at this stage to see where they are going to,” the Munster coach said. “They have looked to keep their hard-nosed approach to the way they play the game but everything is built off the set-piece and that is one area they will look to base their game off. Mix that to the attacking style of their backs: trying to get that balance is difficult but I am sure they will have all their parts together for Saturday.”
MUNSTER SQUAD (v Leinster):W du Preez, M Horan, M Sherry, S Henry, D Varley, J Hayes, D Hurley, T Buckley, B Holland, D Ryan, D Callaghan, M O'Driscoll, A Quinlan, D Wallace, N Ronan, D Leamy, P O'Mahony, J Coughlan, T O'Leary, P Stringer, R O'Gara, S Deasy, P Warwick, D Barnes, L Mafi, J Murphy, S Tuitupou, D Howlett. D Hurley.
CONNACHT SQUAD (v Cardiff):Ronan Loughney, Brett Wilkinson, Dermot Murphy, Seán Cronin, Adrian Flavin, Rob Sweeney, Jamie Hagan, Andrew Browne, Michael Swift, Bernie Upton, Michael McCarthy, Ray Ofisa, Mike McComish, Johnny O'Connor, Cillian Willis, Frank Murphy, Miah Nikora, Ian Keatley, Fionn Carr, Keith Matthews, Niva Taauso, Aidan Wynne, Troy Nathan, Gavin Duffy, Darragh Fanning.
