McGahan welcomes back trusty stalwarts

HEINEKEN CUP POOL ONE:MUNSTER COACH Tony McGahan welcomes back Paul O'Connell, Denis Leamy, Jerry Flannery and David Wallace, all of whom missed last weekend's defeat to the Ospreys, for Friday night's crucial Heineken Cup clash with Perpignan at Thomond Park (8pm).

There was also heartening confirmation that Marcus Horan took part in training following a recent health problem, although he won’t be involved against the French side.

O’Connell was a late withdrawal, picking up a calf strain on the day of the Ospreys match, but has recovered and will presumably lead Munster against French champions Perpignan. Leamy (ankle) and Flannery (facial) have shrugged off knocks, prop Darragh Hurley is fit again, while Wallace was rested last weekend.

While it’s hardly a calamitous state of affairs to lose to the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium McGahan knows there are aspects of Munster’s game that have failed to broach their traditionally lofty standards.

Ronan O’Gara’s recent form with the placed ball – he kicked two from seven at the weekend – is poor, a stark contrast to his consistent excellence over the past decade. McGahan was unequivocal though in his response to a question about whether such a key player and team leader was at risk of being omitted.

“Any player is droppable. Ronan’s been a high-class kicker for a long period of time so he clearly knows within himself where he is at in respect to that part; the rest of his game we don’t have any problem (with) at all. We also have the option of other kickers, Paul Warwick kicks goals as well so . . . Ronan will be the best decision maker in that process and we’ll discuss that but at the end of the day we’ll leave it up to him.”

Friday’s protagonists have each suffered a defeat so far in the campaign, leaving very little wriggle room and the fact that they meet on successive weekends will guarantee a ferocious physical collision.

“You look at the way the breakdown is being refereed. You look at those places where contact is met, that’s where the intensity is. We’ll be expecting them to be at their best. They’ve been in super form in the Top 14 this year and they had a very good display against Northampton at home in ERC 2.

“They have an extremely good set piece. Anything 20-30 metres out from the try line, whether it’s maul or scrum, the only thing they are thinking about is getting points either from a try or three points.”

McGahan elaborated on where he views the primary battleground. “In the forwards definitely, that’s what they base their game around. They are a set-piece dominated side, they play a lot of field position, they kick a lot when they are back 40 metres, back 50 metres and they don’t play any rugby really there at all.

“But their major threat is working their way from kicking, from a penalty to set-piece to getting down inside 20 metres and they look to grind you down from there: so without a doubt the forwards will be the battlefield this weekend.”

Having looked ahead to Friday night, the Munster coach conceded the importance of learning one or two valuable lessons from the Ospreys match, particularly with regard to discipline.

“For 20 minutes we had to play with two players in the bin which makes it very difficult to win games. We showed some ability to come back in the last 10 but we still squandered at least three or four opportunities when if we were good enough to execute at the back end of the game, we could have won, but we didn’t and that’s where we are falling short at the moment.”

McGahan was specific about a couple of transgressions that saw Denis Fogarty and James Coughlan sent to the bin, pointing out that he had addressed the issues in the aftermath and wouldn’t brook any repetition. He is well aware that Munster have suffered only one defeat at Thomond Park – to the Leicester Tigers – in the history of the tournament. He admitted: “Perpignan at home, Northampton at home: home points not just vital, they are a must and this weekend represents that challenge.

“If Perpignan get back-to-back results they are close to controlling the group. It could be the same with us, so that is why Friday is so vital. It’s an opportunity for them and they will be at one hundred per cent.”

MUNSTER SQUAD: W Du Preez, Darragh Hurley, T Buckley, J Hayes, D Fogarty, D Varley, J Flannery, D O’Callaghan, D Ryan, P O’Connell (capt), M O’Driscoll, A Quinlan, N Ronan, D Wallace, D Leamy, J Coughlan, P Stringer, T O’Leary, R O’Gara, P Warwick, L Mafi, J de Villiers, K Earls, I Dowling, D Howlett, Denis Hurley, F Jones.