Gavin Cummiskey talks to Ireland's number seven ahead of Sunday's game
Anyone who brings a new dimension to the hardened Munster eight cannot be overlooked for long at international level. So, unsurprisingly, the 23-year-old former Rockwell College schoolboy Denis Leamy yesterday claimed the hotly-contested number seven jersey.
A couple of years back, around the foot and mouth period, David Wallace was the man. For many years Irish rugby had struggled without a genuine openside, but Wallace and then Keith Gleeson's arrivals sorted that scenario.
Now we have the kind of predicament only New Zealand or, at a push, Australia experience.
When Gleeson's broken leg is healed he will have a hard time displacing Shane Jennings from the Leinster line-up - presuming Niall Ronan hasn't already taken Jennings' spot. Then there is Wallace, who, instead of gearing up for Sunday's Rome examination and ensuing a Lions tour, may see AIL action for Garryowen's trip to Dungannon. The quality list continues to grow when glancing north to Ulster.
The most unfortunate is Johnny O'Connor. The former Connacht tearaway was so highly rated Eddie O'Sullivan capped him in the autumn before a rumoured England approach became official. Well, that's what Wasps would have us believe. Nevertheless, he lived up to the top billing in the first victory over South Africa. It seemed like we had our Six Nations openside, but a week later O'Sullivan handed Leamy a debut against the USA. He did fine, but O'Connor was recalled to play Argentina.
"I know the talent in the back row throughout Ireland is huge," admitted Leamy "but I'm just delighted to be the one with the jersey this weekend. When you are a young fella you watch the Six Nations. You grow up in that environment and always want to be there. I think it's the kind of place where players will be judged. It is a big test for me.
"My form had been good in the Heineken Cup so I was kind of hoping I might sneak in there. I was delighted when I heard it, but probably not that surprised."
Since the USA game Leamy has blown the competition away with some outstanding displays for Munster. He even fended off a late surge from team-mate Alan Quinlan, whose inclusion as a makeshift seven would not have been a major surprise.
It seems Leamy has been around for aeons. He can do the job of a six or seven, and if you are to believe Keith Wood there is even a future at hooker. "I wouldn't mind him, he doesn't know much at all," Leamy laughs. "Nah, I don't think it's on."
Surrounded by a phalanx of dictaphones out in the Citywest hotel yesterday, Leamy's exuded hunger for the next step up the professional rugby ladder. So what kind of openside would he categorise himself as? Maybe a George Smith or Richie McCaw? Or how about an old Neil Back or a new Schalk Burger?
"I'm kind of a new, different kind of an openside. My own kind of openside. I suppose I like to think I can do a bit of everything, you know? I can do a bit of deck play, I can carry the ball and I can play a bit loose. I'd like to think I have a fair few branches to my game." So you are a bit like Mauro Bergamasco (his opposite number on Sunday)? "Yeah, he's a good player," he added.
Last season a cruciate ligament injury stole 10 months. On his return he displaced Wallace within weeks. The only concern was his temperament, but that is looking increasingly more like a strong point. Take a Celtic League match earlier in the season. A Welsh team was trying to drag Munster into a war of attrition. Being the cub in the pack, Leamy would be expected to stay under the radar. Instead, he was dishing out the retribution.
As his thoughts on cap number one reflect, so much more is still to come: "The USA wouldn't be the strongest team. I felt that day I was only mediocre. Conditions didn't really help - I think as a player I have improved since then. Sunday will tell a lot."
It certainly will. The stringent new breakdown rules may be wrecking others heads, but they sit nicely with Leamy: "I think it is going to be an advantage to the defensive side. Guys can't hold on to the ball as long, they have to release it."
Glancing through Sunday's starting XV, the only players not in the 30-cap plus zone are Gordon D'Arcy (10), Geordan Murphy (26) and Leamy. Cap two of many.
