Munster News

Denis Fogarty will have the company today of Tomas O’Leary and Jerry Flannery for the long haul flight to Denver Colorado where the Munster hooker will join the rest of the Ireland A squad to prepare for the Churchill Cup

O’Leary and Flannery have been invited out by coach Declan Kidney to continue their rehab from the injuries that forced them out of the Lions squad.

Ireland open their account next Wednesday (10th) against Canada in Glendale’s Infinity Park and return there four days later for the game against Georgia.

Those players such as Mick O’Driscoll, Barry Murphy and Ian Dowling who were involved in the recent senior internationals against Canada and the US Eagles now take a well earned break before returning to training on Monday June 29th although O’Driscoll has the small matter of getting married to attend to before then.

The players now in Colorado return to training on Monday July 13th while Munster’s Lions contingent are expected back in the gym on Monday August 3rd.

For the past two years Munster have conducted their pre-season training camp in the United States – last year in Boston and the year previous in Chicago – but this time around it’s Portugal for a week beginning Wednesday August 5th. The squad will travel to Browns Sport & Leisure Club in Vilamoura. Established in 1986 as a tennis club, Browns was completely renovated in 2000 as part of a two phase project to create an exclusive sports training facility in Southern Europe. On completion in December 2002 the venue now boasts 30 villas with a maximum capacity of 105 athletes in a total area of 53000 sq meters and a grass pitch of 120 sq meters x 80 sq meters plus all the requisite gym facilities.

Among those who have used the facility are the Kerry, Mayo & Monaghan GAA sides,  rugby clubs, ASM Clermont Auvergne and Saracens while Martin Johnson had his England Senior Elite Player Squad in January of this year.

On their return Munster are straight into action with a game against Sale Sharks in Musgrave Park (Aug 14th), followed by the visit again to Cork of London Irish (Aug 21st) and then finally a trip to Welford Road and the warm-up against Leicester Tigers (Aug 28th), a game that brings to an end the testimonial year for Geordan Murphy.

Meanwhile, yesterday’s performance by David Wallace in the Lions’ facile win over the Golden Lions in Ellis Park helped move him ever closer securing the number 7 Test shirt while Donncha O’Callaghan will get his first start of the tour when he packs down alongside skipper Paul O’Connell on Saturday in the third game of the campaign against the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein’s Vodacom Park.