LAND OF GIANTS
O’mahony hails the strength in PRO14
MUNSTER’S Peter O’mahony says that Leinster and Cardiff’s successes in lifting European silverware at the weekend proves the strength of the PRO14 league.
Cardiff set the ball in motion with a dramatic comeback win over Gloucester in the Challenge Cup final on Friday night and then Leinster secured their fourth Champions Cup title the following day (inset).
And while O’mahony knows that win will have
Leinster full of confidence when they meet in tomorrow’s PRO14 semi-final, he feels the double European success is great for the league.
“We had two in the semis of the Champions Cup, one winning it. Then Cardiff coming back, it says a huge amount for the Pro14,” said the Reds’ captain.
“We’ve always believed it was a great competition, we play in it. I don’t know was everyone listening, but last weekend, the last couple of weeks, was a great advert for it.
“It’s a good showcase for it in the European Cup. There was a big rejig of it and people talked about the Irish teams struggling as a result but that’s not been the case.”
O’mahony is hoping to lead Munster into their third final in four years when they take on Leinster at the RDS as they continue their quest for a first piece of silverware since they won this competition for the third time in 2011.
And he knows they need to get their lineout right if they are to deprive Leinster the opportunity of becoming the first side to win European and league titles in the same season. The back row forward added: “It’s always a big area of talking point, the lineout battle. We know each other very well.
“A lot of our calls would be similar, the systems we run would be quite similar as well. “It’s difficult to find room and areas to win the ball. It’s an area they have dominated us really in the last two or three times we’ve played them so we’re going to have to have a real focus on winning the ball. As you see the standard of their lineout defence is exceptionally high.
“Set pieces are huge in the game now but it’s even more important in semi-finals against a team the calibre of Leinster that we get a solid base.
“It’s difficult because it’s an area they go hard after so we have to be very, very good.”