French lessons beckon for Irish


Emmet Moloney writes for the 'The Irish Farmers Journal' and is a former sports columnist with 'The Kerryman'.

France’s finest lie in wait for Ireland’s provinces this weekend with a Gallic hat-trick on the cards, writes Emmet Moloney...

The busy sporting weekends are coming thick and fast. National Hurling League finals on a Sunday evening in Thurles and, of course, the rugby. The health of the Irish rugby scene is such that these weekends are becoming the norm. And fans up and down the country are licking their lips at the thought of a Munster-Leinster final.

They might get their wish, but it won’t be a Heineken Cup final – it could be the Magners League showdown instead. This is where it gets tricky. Last week’s ragged loss to the Ospreys at home has put Munster in a Magners League bind. Their last game is away to the Blues who can overtake Munster if they beat them with a bonus point. If Munster deprive them of a bonus point, or grab one themselves, they might scrape in the play-offs as the fourth-placed team.
This would put them up against the top team, which is probably going to be Leinster, in a semi-final. The original plan was for the dream final with the pair of them in Croke Park at the end of May. Matters are now up in the air a bit; matters that would have been taken care of if Munster had won at home last weekend. This is not a good vibe to have cruising into an away semi-final in San Sebastian.

Leinster haven’t any Magners League worries and are defending European Champions. Their worries lie on the treatment table. At this time of the year the injuries start to pile up and with the hard ground they are tougher to shake off and, most importantly, tougher to endure. Sexton would be a huge loss but the rumour mill has him playing. Just as well because Leinster are short of cover here. Down the country the potential loss of Paul O’Connell is tempered by the fact that Mick O’Driscoll is a decent replacement. More than decent. But let’s not forget that O’Connell is the team’s leader and was captain of the Lions. If he doesn’t line out he will be missed.

Those are some of the negatives but there are positives in abundance. Are there enough to give us an all-Irish final? Unlikely. What has been missed a bit on this side of the sea is the fact that the French are looking at an all-French final – in Paris at the end of May. Biarritz and Toulouse are no mugs and their reward for beating the Irish, at home, is a home final. They will definitely have one finalist and Biarritz look the most likely, while Toulouse’s form in the quarter-final suggests they will give Leinster plenty of it.

Munster’s recent form has been patchy, unlike Leinster, who seem to have motored along. Forget their loss to Connacht – that game wasn’t very important in the grand scheme of things. The champions are looking to Saturday. Jamie Heaslip has become their key man and he is playing like it. Around this time of the year the key man emerges. Last year it was Rocky Elsom, for Munster it had been Tomás O’Leary and at times Ronan O’Gara.

You would have to be worried for O’Gara on Sunday. As per usual he will be targeted. He can take some comfort in the fact that Damien Traille isn’t fit enough to play, but the French will still have someone bigger than O’Gara, with the ball in his hands, running him over in the first few minutes.

You have to admire the Corkman. He is small in stature, he is over 30 and every time he runs out on the field his career is put at risk because he has a target on his back (and front). But he stands up and tries to take the man down. On occasion his attempts look pitiful but his bravery cannot be questioned.

I cannot understand these barstool merchants who question a player’s gut. You often hear how such and such a player is windy or missed a tackle. It happens with rugby, hurling and Gaelic football. Listen, any man who goes out and represents his county, province or country would not come close to reaching that level if he was windy. He would have been found out years ago.
Back to the rugby. Likely scenario? Leinster will get overrun early on against Toulouse. They’ll leak tries. They’ll battle back but won’t catch the French side as the home crowd sweep them over the line. The likes of O’Driscoll and Heaslip lose nothing in defeat.

With the All-Ireland Heineken Cup final out of the way, we’ll turn to Basque country on Sunday. A re-run except it’s tighter. Much tighter because Munster, no matter what the odds against them, always stay in these games. They’ll need a strong referee and plenty of luck just to stay in it. But it won’t be enough. They’ll go down with their boots on.

So the pessimist in me thinks both Leinster and Munster will be beaten. And I’m not too confident for Connacht either. They are in action against Toulon, a serious French outfit this year, in the Sportsgrounds in Galway. A French treble could be the bet. The Westerners have heart while the French have class. Irish teams sometimes get over the line with that equation, particularly when they play at home, but Toulon are as strong as any club side in France and bring some big names to Galway: Jonny Wilkinson and Felipe Contepomi being just two. Fingers crossed.

Isn’t it amazing that despite all that is happening to the country there are still thousands travelling this weekend? I know a bunch that are going to France. Some of them will have to get over the disappointment of missing the national hurling league finals. Publicans seem to be the only ones the GAA think of when they schedule these games at ludicrous hours. The attendance for two attractive matches will be paltry; if there is 15,000 I’d be surprised. I fancy the Cork and Wexford double, for no other reason than Cork lost to Galway in Thurles last summer and are a fierce bunch for motivation like that! Having seen Wexford and Clare in the league earlier this year and keeping in mind Wexford’s loss in last year’s final to Offaly, the Yellowbellies are the pick.

Predictions are a curse for journalists. This is one of the weekends when I hope I get it badly wrong – which has happened plenty of times before!

To catch Emmet's latest column, get 'The Irish Farmers' Journal' every Thursday...