Mathewson could turn out to be far more than just cover for Murray

HANDS UP those who remember Chris Delooze, Toby Morland, or Te Aihe Toma? Us neither, but that’s okay, very few in Irish rugby can recall the three imported scrum-halves who were in and out of Munster without discernible impact.

As a rule Munster, unlike the other provinces, don’t do imports when it comes to scrum-half.

Leinster won their first European Cup in 2009 with wily Wallaby Chris Whitaker at No9 and have Kiwi Jamison Gibson-Park as a valued member of their current squad.

Ulster relied on the peerless excellence of Springbok Ruan Pienaar for years and Connacht’s finest scrum-half of the pro era, Kieran Marmion, was brought over from England.

Meanwhile, Munster have consistently looked within.

Since the late 1990s, the No9 jersey has been dominated by Peter Stringer, fellow Corkman Tomás O’Leary and Limerick’s Conor Murray, in situ as first-choice for the past seven years.

Which is why the arrival of Kiwi Alby Mathewson, signed on a four-month deal to cover for Murray while he rehabs his neck injury, is such a novel talking point.

It has only been one game — the embarrassing 64-7 rout of Ulster last weekend — and Mathewson benefited from the pushchair ride presented by Ulster’s flaccid forwards but, even so, his impact on proceedings was notable.

The All Black brought energy to his involvement, pelting to each breakdown with commendable urgency where he whipped out accurate passes to allow Joey Carbery and his backline cohorts to wreak havoc outside.

It was also eye-catching how Mathewson chirruped and harried his own pack to greater efforts — a trademark quality in Kiwi scrum-halves — despite only being acquainted with his new teammates for the few weeks it took the red tape on his work permit to be negotiated.

The standout moment was the 35-yard NFL pass Mathewson used to bypass 12 Ulster defenders and release Rory Scannell into space in the middle of the Thomond Park pitch.

Munster, spearheaded by the electric footwork and passing of Carbery, are actively pursuing a more expansive approach this season and, on early evidence, Mathewson looks like adding to it considerably.

He has certainly had exposure to enough variety over his career and the man who grew up in Hastings on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island could lay claim to being among the most travelled players in the world game.

There have been stints in Wellington, Auckland, Perth, Hawke’s Bay, Canterbury, Taupo, Bristol, Toulon and now Limerick.

If that gives the impression of a journeyman talent, it is a false one because Mathewson has real quality, recognised by the All Blacks with four caps in 2010.

One of those, his last, was off the bench against Ireland in Lansdowne Road when he helped New Zealand to a comfortable 38-18 victory in Lansdowne Road. That was not a vintage time for Kiwi No9s — it was the post-Justin Marshall, Byron Kelleher period and a couple of years before Aaron Smith burst upon the scene — but Piri Weepu and Andy Ellis were the chosen two and, as part of a struggling Blues side, Mathewson could not force his way in to their 2011 World Cup plans.

The move to Perth and the Western Force was rejuvenating and there was talk in 2014 that if he returned to the New Zealand system, the All Blacks could become interested but the scrum-half preferred to do his own thing.

The club-hopping continued but in the summer of 2017, Mathewson was considering the genuine possibility his career as a toplevel pro had reached its conclusion.

He had just finished the season with Bristol and had another year on his contract when, out of the blue, billionaire owner Stephen Lansdown pulled the plug.

‘He signed Ian Madigan, Steven Luatua and coach Pat Lam on big money and decided I had to go,’ recalled Mathewson.

There was another European club interested (Mathewson will not say who) and talks had reached an advanced stage when that deal went pear-shaped, too.

‘The director of rugby said ‘yep, we’ll sign you’, and a few days later he said ‘the contract’s coming through, it’s coming through’ then it didn’t. He just brushed me for two months and then signed a South African and Australian.’

It meant Mathewson, his pregnant partner Cara and their two young boys were stranded in Bristol and they decided the best move was to return to New Zealand and move in with her mother in Taupo.

It was painted as a step towards semi-retirement, with Mathewson turning out half a dozen times for local club King Country, when Toulon suddenly came in and the family, now including an infant daughter, were back on the plane to Europe — good news for Munster, who moved for the 32-year-old once his Top14 stint was over.

‘I think this is the fifth country I’ve lived in over the last two years, so I’m getting to see the world a little bit,’ said Mathewson last week.

Not a bad thing from a Munster perspective as they seek to buttress their squad with top quality. There is already talk of this canny move becoming permanent.

Saturday will have a bearing on that decision. Leinster’s forwards will up be in Mathewson’s face to a degree he did not experience against Ulster.

But this is not some rookie about to implode beneath the bright lights on the big stage.

Mathewson has seen it all before...many times.