Munster’s Carbery coup

OU’D wonder what gave Munster fans more satisfaction this week – the fact they signed a top class player for a problem position or that they did so at the expense of their greatest rivals?

Unquestionably the sight of annoyed – to put it mildly – Leinster supporters will have greatly warmed Munster hearts. The Blues wouldn’t be so annoyed unless they knew they were losing a gem of a player and Joey Carbery is all that and more.

Remember this is a guy who made his debut against the All Blacks in Soldier Field. With a little over twenty minutes to go he had to step into Jonny Sexton’s boots and guide Ireland over the line. The Athy man didn’t miss a beat as Ireland ran out eleven point winners.

What Munster wouldn’t have given for that sort of assurance from their number ten in the big games they’ve played over the last couple of seasons. Ian Keatley is a good player, but to push on to the next level Munster need an out-half who approaches greatness and in Carbery they now have a player with that sort of potential.

Carbery, of course, needed the move as he wasn’t going to get the kind of game time he needed at ten at Leinster to keep himself in the frame for the Ireland squad for next year’s World Cup. Probably more than anything it was the influence of Joe Schmidt – said or unsaid – that he had to move, which has seen Carbery move south. The move promises to be mutually beneficial.

Munster gets what they’ve craved since Ronan O’Gara hung up his boots and Carbery will surely shoot to the top of the pecking order for the number ten shirt. That’s going to be tough for guys like Keatley, Tyler Bleyendaal and JJ Hanrahan to take.

To be honest with the addition of Carbery, Munster look at little overstocked at ten. Hanrahan has the versatility to play elsewhere, but even so four (or five if you include young Bill Johnston) into one or two won’t go. There’s got to be a half decent chance the one or other of Keatley or Bleyendaal will make the move to Ulster this summer. There was much speculation that Carbery was Ravenhill bound before the deal with Munster came together, so it’s not unreasonable to assume Ulster are still in the market for an out-half. Munster fans probably wouldn’t be happy to lose Bleyendaal given how well he performed before his injury, but given their joy at Carbery’s arrival it would be churlish of them to complain too much remembering also that books must be balanced.