More than any other Irish player this season perhaps, John Muldoon’s performances give the lie to the notion that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. There is he, a ball-handling backrower, linking seamlessly with team-mates in the wide channels as part of Connacht’s running game.
Witness last Saturday week against Leinster as second last receiver on the left-hand touchline, transferring quickly to help outflank Kurt McQuilkin’s renowned defensive line, before the men in green went wide right in the build-up to Kieron Marmion’s match-winning try.
There Muldoon was again last Friday in the Kingspan Stadium, receiving the ball in the same wide channel, and this time working an inside switch with fellow backrower Eoin McKeon, who gave the try-scoring offload inside to Caolin Blade for another of Connacht’s contenders for try of the season.
“The try he set up,” reveals Pat Lam, “I used it as an example for some of our backs. John held the ball in two hands and it’s about that expression, being able to confuse the defence and put a ball back inside to Eoin McKeon and on to Caolin Blade. That epitomises what we’re after. Just follow your skipper.”
Having started all but one of his 18 league games, there’s been plenty of other examples of Muldoon’s improved ball skills, as well as three tries in three European Challenge Cup games.
Arrows
It’s not that the 34-year-old stalwart from Portumna was without ability, but as one of the finest defensive backrowers of his time in Irish rugby, he has undoubtedly added a few arrows to his quiver.
“It’s not something that’s happened overnight,” says Muldoon, pointing to the fact that, as well as Lam, “Dave [Ellis], Andre [Bell] and the other coaches have been involved over the last few years.
“It starts on day one. In the past you’d be going into a strength and conditioning block for maybe three or four weeks and then you’d start into rugby scenarios, but from day one we start skills and it may be low-intensity skills; just getting the basics of passing back together, getting your hand-eye co-ordination going.
“Then it’s about building that up week-on-week,” adds Muldoon.
Come Tuesday, players will link up with squad-mates who have a similar skills agenda that week. “So it’s become player-led, as opposed to coach-driven, which maybe it was over the last two years,” says Muldoon
This philosophy applies to breakdown or defensive work as much as handling, with a few pointers from the coaches.
Lam interrupts Muldoon to stress that: “Even the guys on crutches do them. Dave [Ellis] has got a lot of variety, so he’ll work with them even if he can’t move their feet or if they can’t do things with their shoulders but can use their feet, so it’s enjoyable.”
These methods have helped young players, naturally adept at this ball-handling game, step seamlessly into the team, while also offsetting any ulterior pressures.
Says Muldoon: “Over the last few weeks and months I have been hitting home with the lads, look around, and look at the talent that’s in this group. If we do our stuff right we will be good enough. If we don’t do it right, ultimately every time we lose a game or we make mistakes – when we look back at it through the video with Pat and the management – it’s because someone didn’t do something right or we haven’t done our jobs right.
“That’s the main thing, people are probably sick to the teeth of hearing that word ‘process’ that Pat likes to use. He just drills that into us, and if we’re coming down it right, then it will come and that is the way it has been for the last few months.”
Connacht are the only Irish province involved in Europe this weekend and on Saturday face a difficult Challenge Cup quarter-final away to Grenoble, who are currently sitting eighth in the Top 14 after three successive wins, with the winners at home to Harlequins or London Irish in the semi-finals. Potentially, it could impact on their Pro12 ambitions, but that's not the way Muldoon sees it.
As he also notes, Saturday’s game could also put them within two matches of winning a trophy, for the first time in Connacht’s history, and this is something the other players have spoken about, how rewarding it would be to see their skipper lift a trophy in his 13th league campaign and 12th in Europe.
Remiss
“From the outside, we’ve probably over-achieved,” says Muldoon. “We’ve got our goal, or close enough to it, but it would be remiss of Pat and the whole organisation if we stepped back and went ‘oh, we’re happy.’”
Lam interjects: “That’s not the way we work.”
Then Muldoon adds: “We know Leinster, Ulster and Glasgow are all going to be there in the hunt and they are all sniffing for silverware, and we’re no different. In June or July, when we’re all on holidays sitting on a beach, or whatever we’re doing, we’ll be looking back and hopefully we’ll be looking back on ‘what a great season’.
“As Pat has said, if we’ve silverware sitting in a cabinet, we’ll be even happier. I guess we’ve achieved quite a bit, but when you’re that close to it, you want more. It’s the greed in everyone, isn’t it?”
So any preference? “No,” says Muldoon.
Lam smiles and says: “Two trophies.”
