THE SIGHT of Keith Earls bombing around the back lines was enough to clear any residual headaches that Munster players might have felt after their Saturday night loss to Leinster. The Limerick back took a full part in yesterday’s training session at University of Limerick and his name is added to an unchanged squad along with Duncan Williams and Mike Sherry.
Munster captain Denis Leamy admitted yesterday that shaking off the negativity left by Leinster’s resurgent performance had not been easy.
“Yeah. It was very disappointing. This time yesterday we were still dwelling on it but we had a meeting in Mitchelstown and we trashed out a few things and we chatted through what did and didn’t go well. And we had to park it then and think about this weekend, which is another massive game,” said Leamy.
As ever, the Heineken Cup seems to require Munster to come out with all guns firing. A visit to London Irish is rarely easy but this season the Exiles have been setting the pace in their domestic league.
It cannot have been easy to concentrate on that match while clearing through the fog of their derby loss.
“It hasn’t, but any time you lose to Leinster is not ideal,” countered Mick Galway. “Look beyond that and our performances have been impressive. Four out of five in Magners is not something we have done in a long time. Everyone was disappointed on Saturday night and Sunday night but we are on top of the Magners League.
“There are no trophies won in October. It was not the ideal preparation but we thought winning in Glasgow was ideal preparation for Leinster. As it turned out, it wasn’t.
“Sometimes when you win all the time you don’t learn about yourself. When you lose you go back to the drawing board and that is what we did.”
Galwey confirmed that Earls came through training without any repercussions.
“This is his first full hard session. It is great to have him back,” said Galwey.
“The only concern is match time: he hasn’t had any in a while. Tomorrow will tell a lot in terms of how he recovers but we were delighted. He got fully involved, physically and everything else and doesn’t seem to have had any problems.
“A number of weeks ago we weren’t too sure if he would be available for this first phase of the Heineken Cup.”
London Irish have been in formidable form in the opening stages of the English season, with Ryan Lamb firing four penalties in their 42-24 defeat of Leeds last week.
“It is a huge step up. They are on a roll and will be hard to beat. So this is a tough group for us and trying to get something out of away games is never easy. But we will have to play our own game and bring all our experience out of it down the years,” said Galwey.
Alan Quinlan is the embodiment of that experience and this week the Tipperary man is in line to become the most capped Munster player of all time.
“Phenomenal. Alan has been there a long time. I first played with him in Shannon and he has stood the test of time. He has come through some horrific injuries and yet we saw last weekend that he is as competitive as ever. After 200 caps for Munster, it is an incredible achievement.
“The only other fella that did it was Anthony Foley. Given they both played in the backrow, it is phenomenal that they both got that many. Alan still has a full season ahead of him and he is going to be an important part of the squad as the year goes on,” added Galwey.
Gerry Flannery also took part in yesterday’s training session while Tomás O’Leary has a hand injury but is expected to be fit for the London Irish match.
MUNSTER SQUAD: W Du Preez, M Horan, M Sherry, D Varley, J Hayes, D Hurley, T Buckley, B Holland, D Ryan, D O'Callaghan, M O'Driscoll, A Quinlan, D Wallace, N Ronan, D Leamy, P O'Mahony, J Coughlan, T O'Leary. D Williams, P Stringer, R O'Gara, S Deasy, P Warwick, D Barnes, K Earls, L Mafi, J Murphy, S Tuitupou, D Howlett, D Hurley.
