Cronin’s departure from Munster raises lots of questions
THERE was no shortage of surprise and intrigue on Tuesday when news filtered through that James Cronin would be moving on this summer.
The Munster prop’s career hit a rather large speed bump last year, but let’s stick to the rugby for now. Cronin, 30, is coming off his best season in red since he made his debut for the province against Leinster back in 2013. The loosehead, who won the last of his three Ireland caps in a Six Nations clash with France in 2016, was virtually ever present for Munster during the current campaign.
The Cork native has made 16 appearances this term - including 13 starts. A renowned scrummager with a hard edge, it was Cronin’s improved discipline, mobility and breakdown threat which were notable. For context, Cronin has got through 856 minutes of toil for Munster this season - more than the other four looseheads on the books (Dave Kilcoyne, Jeremy
Loughman, Josh Wycherley and Liam O’Connor) combined.
So, why is an in-form, Test-standard loosehead - something of a rarity across the four provinces at the moment - seeking pastures new?
It’s a development which was labelled ‘awful’ by former Munster and Ireland captain Donal Lenihan earlier this week. Bernard
Jackman knows a thing or two about frontrowers and described it as ‘madness’. The official line from Munster earlier this week was finances played a part in Cronin’s release. It’s a strange one.
Cronin will leave a significant void in their frontrow stocks next season, particular when Kilcoyne is away on Ireland duty. There are many who believe that Cronin’s form merited a recall to the international fold based on his recent performances.
Munster aren’t exactly short of quality in their backrow or back three yet have parted with some serious cash to secure the services of Jason Jenkins and Simon Zebo.
It would be remiss not to mention the events of April 2020 when Cronin was hit with a one-month ban for an ‘unintentional antidoping violation.’
European rugby chiefs opened an investigation after Cronin tested positive for the banned substances prednisolone and prednisone following Munster’s European Champions Cup game against Racing in November 2019.
The investigation concluded that a prescription error at the pharmacy was the cause of the positive test. Cronin was cleared of any intentional wrongdoing, but the fallout was messy. Johann van Graan, the head coach, and Ian Flanagan, the chief executive, had to face some awkward questions in the months which followed.
They will face a few more down the road.
Whichever way you look at this, Cronin’s departure is a significant head-scratcher.