Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
NOT FUN & JAMES AT THOMOND
JAMES TRACY wasn’t even playing when he felt the full force of the Thomond Park atmosphere – now he can’t wait to be at the heart of the action again.
Tracy has become a fixture in Leinster’s now traditional postchristmas visit to Limerick, but at the start of his Blues career he got a little taster of what was to come.
“As a hooker, they’re definitely getting at you,” he laughed.
“I remember going down as 24th man years ago and getting heckled when I wasn’t even playing. I was in the warm-up and still getting abuse!
“That’s what you deal with. I was like ‘wow, this place is something else’.
“It wouldn’t be moments. It comes in waves.
“They get flowing in attack, win a box-kick, they thrive off big moments and decisions going their way.
“It’s definitely a special place to go.
“In the world, there are a few cauldrons and it’s definitely one of them.
“As a rugby fan, it’s probably my favourite place to play. Now, I’ve had bad days there, but they make the good days all the better.
“It’s an iconic ground. It’s been sold out for the last few years in this fixture and it’s an unbelievable one to be a part of.”
Tracy, 28, believes that how a visiting team performs on Munster’s home patch is a good barometer of where they are.
Blues boss Leo Cullen (inset) will mix and match again in terms of selection but they go to their arch rivals unbeaten for the season to date, and Tracey has played his part in all but one game.
He recalls, though, how last season Leinster were also in a good place heading south-west, only to lose out.
“The pressure mounts,” he explained. “They’re very good at playing pressure rugby, on top of all the external factors.
“So they don’t make it easy for you. If you can get it right it makes winning all the sweeter, but it’s not easy.
“It probably is a great yardstick of how we’re going. It’s one of the most intense games. It’s tough – tougher than a lot of European games, intensity wise.
“Until you’ve been in it, sometimes you don’t know what’s going on until it’s over.
“It’s a lot different to most other fixtures, the feeling of playing down there.”