IT’S DOOLEY NOTED Peter’s picked up pointers from England’s bully boys
AFTER seeing Ireland bullied in Twickenham, Peter Dooley knows Leinster will have to front up against Saracens.
The prop, who was man of the match in Leinster’s win over Ospreys last Friday, looked on in frustration two days later as England hammered into Andy Farrell’s men on their way to a 24-12 win.
Sarries stars Jamie George, Maro Itoje, George Kruis, Owen Farrell and Elliot Daly were all part of the win, while Mako Vunipola is expected to return for the Aviva Stadium quarterfinal clash, having missed Sunday’s game.
“The Saracens lads are key men, like Farrell, Itoje, Jamie George, they are all going to be playing in April,” Dooley said.
“They brought that physicality in abundance at the weekend and it is something we are going to have to prepare for.
“It’s going to be a tough challenge. The Irish boys will have been disappointed. I would have thought that they would have talked about it all week, about that physicality.
“They were nearly a bit bullied. It’s frustrating that you talk about it all week and it doesn’t happen.
“James Ryan showed how physical he was, flying into things and leading by example.
“It’s tough, though. They are big, physical men.”
Cian Healy, Tadhg Furlong and Rob Herring were part of a beefy Ireland front row, with Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher and Dave Kilcoyne adding plenty of weight from the bench.
But Dooley, who made his 10th start of the season for Leinster last weekend, hopes to one day add his own bulk to the side. “That’s the aim, the ambition for me, to play for Ireland,” he said.
“Hopefully that’s a string to my bow if I can carry well. I look at Caelan [Doris] and Ronan [Kelleher] who came on on Sunday, they made gainlines straight away.”
Meanwhile, Healy has been ruled out for the remainder of the Six Nations with a hip injury, having limped off against the English on Sunday.
The loosehead prop now faces a race to be fit for Leinster’s Champions Cup quarter-final against Saracens.
Healy is ahead of Dooley in the pecking order for club and country, but the Offaly man insists the veteran – just two caps away from his 100th – remains the perfect role model.
“I have learnt so much from Cian over the years, I still do,” he said.
“You just have to watch him. He is a bit of a freak. He’s a physical specimen.
“When I was younger you’d be blown away because I admired him coming up.
“To come back from the career threatening injury he had shows his resilience. He’s such a hard worker.
On his days off from
Ireland he’d be in here.
Hopefully he gets his
100th cap.”
ALBY MATHEWSON will join
Ulster on a one-year deal in
July.
The 34-year-old (inset) was a favourite at Munster having extended a short-term contract to cover the World Cup period, but the Reds had to let him go in December.
Ulster needed to sign a scrum-half with experience as John Cooney has broken into the Ireland set-up and Mathewson, who won five caps with the All Blacks, fits the bill perfectly.
“We are delighted that a player of Alby’s quality is set to join the squad,” said Ulster head coach Dan Mcfarland.
“His leadership skills and extensive experience will be a valuable addition to our squad, especially for our younger scrum-halves as they progress.”