Carbery to start with Murray in beginning of new era
WHEN Joey Carbery decided to head down the M7 to join Munster this summer, he would have banked on having the experience of Conor Murray to guide him through the first few months at his new province.
Alas, a neck injury saw Murray miss 12 weeks of the new campaign with Carbery having to negotiate those early matches without Ireland’s premier scrum-half by his side.
Tomorrow, the pair will link up for the first time in Munster colours. It was Joe Schmidt’s plan to get Carbery down to Thomond Park to boost his exposure at fly-half — regularly playing alongside Murray was a major factor in that decision.
When Carbery won his first cap for Ireland, as a 58th-minute replaced for Johnny Sexton against the All Blacks at Soldier Field in 2016, Murray was there to guide the young fly-half through his first Test match.
The pair have shared clutches of game-time ever since. Ireland’s Grand Slam-clinching victory over England was a case in point. With his side leading 24-10, Schmidt decided to call Sexton ashore with Carbery entering the fray to link up with Murray for the remaining 13 minutes of the contest — not an ideal situation when you’re trying to build combinations ahead of the World Cup.
Schmidt met Carbery for that infamous coffee in April and, following that, the 23-year-old made the decision to step out of Sexton’s shadow and make the move south.
The pair started their first Test together in the summer — an 18-9 loss to the Wallabies in Brisbane — but it has taken 182 days since that game at Suncorp Stadium for the Murray-Carbery axis to be reunited. That happens against Castres in Limerick tomorrow afternoon.
It is a major boost for Munster head coach Johann van Graan, who celebrated a year in charge of the province this week.
‘Obviously they have trained a bit together, played for Ireland together and it is not something we have spent too much thought about,’ he said.
Carbery has come through his first eight games for Munster very much in credit. He has brought a new attacking edge, and there are real signs that his game management is improving, a necessity at Test level.
One memorable raking touchfinder in the latter stages of that nail-biting 10-10 draw at Sandy Park was further evidence that Carbery is maturing into a top class No 10.
Munster can make serious headway in Pool 2 this month, beginning with a win over the reigning French champions.
The back-row of Peter O’Mahony, Chris Cloete and CJ Stander is a formidable unit, with Arno Botha providing plenty of impact from the bench.
Chris Farrell looked sharp on his return from injury against Edinburgh last Friday night, bagging a brace of tries in a man-ofthe-match display.
Farrell’s physical presence at outside centre allied to Rory Scannell’s playmaking skills has the makings of a dangerous midfield. The spine of Munster’s backline is now starting to take shape with in-form wingers Keith Earls and Andrew Conway primed to benefit in the wide channels.
Overall, it is easily the strongest line-up that Van Graan has been able to select this season. Perhaps one area for concern, however, is a relatively callow bench. Rookie props Jeremy Loughman and Ciaran Parker have been drafted in to cover for the injured James Cronin and Stephen Archer. Hooker Rhys Marchall and giant lock Jean Kleyn are also on the treatment table with Kevin O’Byrne and 20-year-old second row Fineen Wycherly earning promotions to the bench.
The hosts will want to make a big statement this weekend ahead of next Saturday’s return game at Stade Pierre Fabre.
Castres have struggled for form on the domestic front but will be fully-loaded for their visit to Thomond Park.
Captain Mathieu Babillot, who made a big impression for France on their summer tour of New Zealand, is the standout forward in a formidable pack.
Tomorrow will be the 15th meeting between the two sides in Europe and there has been a feisty undercurrent to these encounters ever since Peter Clohessy was bitten by Castres forward Ismaela Lassissi during a Heineken Cup clash in 2002.
Last season’s 17-17 draw on Castres’ home turf was another feisty encounter with no shortage of offthe-ball shenanigans.
Munster were waiting in the long grass when Castres arrived at Thomond Park in January, inflicting a 48-3 hammering on the visitors to book their place in a record 17th European Cup quarter-final.
That game will serve as a warning to Castres. Munster, with Murray and Carbery finally on board together, will be ready.