TOMÁS GOES
O’Leary decides to hang up boots
FORMER Ireland scrum-half Tomás O’Leary has announced his retirement from professional rugby. O’Leary started four of Ireland’s five games in the 2009 Six Nations Championship when Declan Kidney’s side won the Grand Slam. It was only Ireland’s second Grand Slam, and their first since 1948.
O’Leary was subsequently selected for the 2009 British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa before being ruled out by a broken ankle sustained while on Munster duty. Cork-born O’Leary, who won 24 Ireland caps, also lifted the Heineken Cup twice with Munster in 2006 and 2008.
‘I have had an incredible career from my academy days in Munster to my last game in Montpellier, all of which have been extremely satisfying,’ O’Leary, 33, wrote in announcing his retirement on the Navy Blue blog.
‘I have realised my ambition of representing Munster and Ireland. Wearing the red and green jerseys has been a real honour.
‘Highlights that stand out are the two Heineken Cup victories with Munster and winning the Grand Slam in 2009 with Ireland,’ he added.
‘However, the most fulfilling experience is the unique bond and friendships I experienced through rugby. This comradery [sic] is what I will miss the most.
‘For this, I would like to thank all of the teammates I have had the pleasure of playing with throughout my career.”
O’Leary, who played hurling and won minor Munster and All-Ireland titles with Cork in 2000 and 2001, began his Munster career in 2005. He played nearly 130 games for the province before joining London Irish in 2012 where he spent three seasons in the Premiership.
O’Leary returned to Munster in the summer of 2015 and finished his career with Top 14 club Montpellier last season.
Meanwhile, Rob Penney has ruled out a return to Munster to take over from Rassie Erasmus but said he would be open to coming back to the northern hemisphere or Ireland at some stage in the future.
But Penney, who guided Munster to two European Cup semifinals in his couple of seasons in charge of the Reds, said he has committed to the NTT Communications club in Japan for another two years and won’t be considering anything until 2019.
The Munster players who were on this summer’s Irish tour to the USA and Japan brought Penney out to dinner in Tokyo last month just when it was emerging that Erasmus was returning to South Africa.
Several of the Munster players in the Irish squad had blossomed under Penney during his two years in Ireland but he ruled out a return to take charge.
‘I’ve just confirmed for two more years here which takes me to just short of the World Cup, so we will decide based on where the family is at and our situation then what we will decide to do.
‘But hopefully there will be enough petrol left in the tank and I’d like to keep involved if I can. I am not available for anything at the moment. But who knows what’s next, we will just have to wait and see,’ said the former New Zealand Under 20 coach.
Penney, who took over from Tony McGahan in the summer of 2012, didn’t rule out a return to the northern hemisphere or Ireland at some point.
‘You just never know in this game. If the opportunity came up [returning to Ireland or the northern hemisphere], surely I would be very open to it. But, for now, I have committed to staying with NTT here in Japan until 2019 and we will see what happens after that,’ added Penney.
2009 Tomás O’Leary started four of Ireland’s five games when they won the Grand Slam