HEINEKEN CUP POOL THREE:CARDIFF PLAYERS were grumbling about Leinster at the breakdown area last week. In rugby doesn't everyone grumble about the breakdown? Isn't it all about stealing yards and angles, bending the rules and players, as they like to say, "playing on the edge". So Cardiff were unhappy with Leinster.
Cian Healy would have known a lot about that particular discomfort. The loosehead prop is wholly committed in that domain but does he give a hoot. Ask him about Cardiff’s huffing and puffing and he all but stifles a yawn and shrugs a who-cares-if-they-were-unhappy type of shrug. Cardiff lost.
“I didn’t hear any grumbles after the game,” he says nonchalantly. “The breakdown is what it is: you’ve got to work hard at it, and you’ve got to hit hard or you won’t win it. It’s becoming a bit more part of the game now, and it’s getting more looked at by the refs. There is a lot of focus on it and you’ve got to do it right. I was looking over the video and when we did wrong we were pinged. Fair dues: you get from it what you put into it.”
Healy’s insouciance comes naturally. But on the pitch he has had to ramp up his game since the arrival in 2010 of Heinke van der Merwe. If the club policy of having two players for every position has merit then Healy is living proof. In a career that may only last 10 years, the trick for players has been to keep moving forward, adapt and refine.
The South African has ensured that for Healy constant improvement is an imperative rather than a choice. Last month he went a few games on the bench as Van der Merwe started. In the world of fragile egos and the need to always be seen proving one’s worth, being on the bench is not where players want to be.
Competition with Van der Merwe has brought more value to Healy’s game. “Yeah,” he says. “I’m finding it (competition) is. I was thinking about that only recently. When I was a little less mature I was like, ‘this is annoying, someone else is good here’. But now I’m starting to notice it’s bringing about better (sic) in my game because I’m pushing myself more than I thought I had to.
“I’m starting to notice in scrummaging I’m working on new things and I’m trying to bring out more and more. In training I’m running around more because I want to be doing more things. I think it’s nice and healthy. Myself, Jack (McGrath) and himself (Van der Merwe) have been pushing each other really hard this season.”
That will pay off when Leinster step onto the pitch against Glasgow on Sunday for a game that could secure a place in the Heineken Cup knockout stages. Glasgow have a strong scrum. “Standard really,” says Healy.
The prop will know the visit to Firhill will come with the warning of an unpleasant end if discipline goes down and the penalty count goes up. “Glasgow always has a pretty strong scrum,” he says. “It’s one of those things where we’ve got to focus on ourselves. A lot of what we have been doing with the forwards is focusing on what we have to do and how we’re going to control discipline at the call.
“Last week, there were three or four penalties in the game for breaking the engage call. That’s something we’ll look at and we’ll discipline that ourselves and hope to have all that fine-tuned.”
At a personal level Healy has drawn attention. His performances have become more fractious with opposition players deliberately trying to wind him up. There’s another shrug, this time with a grin. “Yeah, yeah. I notice people having a pull off me but it’s grand, you get on with it and give them an old push back the odd time. Joe (Schmidt) gives me a bit of a freaker for that, so I’ll have to leave that out now.
“It’s part of it. Some people think they can target someone, get a rise out of them and take them off their game. You stick to your own game and that’s it. It means you’re causing them a bit of hassle if they feel the need to focus on you. If I’m not focusing on them and they’re focusing on me then I’ve already got the upper hand.”
No injuries. Just a few bumps and bruises and really nothing he can think of that’s bothering him too much. As he says himself: “I’m ready to rock and roll.”
TONIGHT'S MATCHES
POOL FIVE
Ospreys v Benetton Treviso
Liberty stadium (8.0)
THE WELSH side lost last time out against Saracens at tonight’s venue and that still smarts based on the comments of coach Seán Holley this week. The Ospreys required a late penalty to snatch a draw in Italy earlier in the tournament. They won’t qualify for the knock-out stages but still have an outside chance of making the play-offs in the Challenge Cup. Holley admitted: “Our reputation is at stake in Europe and it’s important that we get as many ranking points as we can, and to do that we have to achieve as positive a finish (to the tournament) as we can.” George Stowers is banned (four weeks) while they have a few missing through injury but the visitors are even harder hit.
Treviso make seven changes to the side that was beaten last weekend by Munster at Thomond Park. The Ospreys should win and Ireland’s Tommy Bowe be a principal beneficiary in try-scoring terms.
OSPREYS:B Davies; T Bowe, A Bishop, A Beck, S Williams; D Biggar, R Webb; P James, R Hibbard, A Jones; I Gough, I Evans; T Smith, J Tipuric (capt), J Bearman. Replacements: H Bennett, R Bevington, A Jarvis, J Thomas, C O'Toole, K Fotualii, M Morgan , T Isaacs.
BENETTON TREVISO:B Williams; L Nitoglia, A Sgarbi, A Pratichetti, T Iannone; K Burton, E Gori; M Rizzo (capt), F Sbaraglini, L Cittadini; G Padrò, V Bernabo; P Derbyshire, A Zanni, M Filippucci. Replacements: E Ceccato, A Allori, I Fernandez Rouyet, C van Zyl, B Vermaak , S Picone, F Semenzato, T Botes.
Referee: JP Doyle (England).
POOL TWO
Racing Metro 92 v Edinburgh
Stades Yves du Manoir (8pm, Irish time)
EDINBURGH COACH Michael Bradley makes six changes for the trip to Paris as the Scottish side, level at the top of the pool with Cardiff Blues, try to sustain a thrilling campaign that has seen them win two matches by a single point. Racing have lost their previous home games in the tournament to the Blues and London Irish. Springbok centre Francois Steyn makes his first Heineken Cup appearance of the season, Juan Martin Hernandez is named at outhalf, with another Argentine, Juan Imhoff, at fullback.
Bradley has named Mike Blair at scrumhalf, with Greig Laidlaw moving to outhalf and Phil Godman dropping to the bench. Lee Jones (wing), Matt Scott (centre), Ross Rennie (flanker), David Denton (flanker) and Grant Gilchrist are promoted to the starting team. Edinburgh’s need is greater but Racing should have won at Murrayfield and that might be reflected in tonight’s final score.
RACING METRO 92: J Imhoff; V Vakatawa, F Steyn, F Estebanez, J Saubade; J Hernandez, S Descons; A Lo Cicero, G Arganese, J Orlandi; L Nallet (capt), F van der Merwe; J Leo'o, A Batut, S Chabal. Replacements: T Bianchin, E Ben Arous, B Sa, B Le Roux, M Loree, J Wisniewski, R Vaquiin, H Chavancy.
EDINBURGH: C Paterson; L Jones, N De Luca, M Scott, T Visser; G Laidlaw (capt), M Blair; A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Cross; G Gilchrist, S Cox; D Denton, R Rennie, N Talei. Replacements: A Walker, K Traynor, J Gilding, E Lozada, R Grant, P Godman, T Brown, J Thompson.
Referee: Dave Pearson (England).
