Adding Frank Sinatra to the Munster training panel has proved a rugby masterstroke
Alana McInerney reveals the secret of coach Fiona Steed's 2024 success - they are 'doing it their way'
Frank Sinatra has proved a significant addition to Munster's interprovincial campaign!
Canny coach Fiona Steed selected Ol' Blues Eyes as their 'extra' squad member before the competition began.
And the legendary American crooner's music is a regular at training, on the bus and at matches as the Reds 'do it their way'.
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Picking Sinatra in the first place was an inspirational choice says top-scoring winger Alana McInerney, someone who knows a thing or too but being inspired - she is the sister of Clare inter-county footballer Mark and daughter of Munster SFC winner Francis.
McInerney has been Munster's breakthrough star season, her switch from GAA to rugby on going to the University of Limerick four years back, was the catalyst for a defining season that put her in the frame for an Ireland cap.
The left-winger is the top scorer two thirds of the way through the 2024 Interpro Championship and with Connacht to come in Galway this weekend.
"Lucky enough I've been in a couple of international training squads before at Fifteens and Under-21s and I've been involved at the start of the summer with the Sevens and exposed to some really top quality training up at High Performance Centre so it has been great," says McInerney.
"So this year I've been involved with the National Talent Squad and that had good quality coaches too, so maybe it is just being disciplined and the extra work has helped.
"I am loving playing club rugby with UL Bohs and now interprovincial with Munster and have been lucky enough to have the same coach for both, Fiona Steed.
"It's also been great fun, we have had some great themes running though, we have had 'Rocky' and now we have 'Frank Sinatra' - oh wait, I'm not sure I am supposed to say that am I?"
McInerney is part of the highly successful UL Bohs outfit in the AIL - they supplied a dozen players to last week's winning Munster line-up and another four to the bench while, at the same time, having another half-dozen spread across the other provinces.
It is not always easy for successful clubs sides to step up a level, the pace changes, timing has to be adjusted and so forth but Bohs have coped admirably.
"I think we just work for each other, we are so used to the way we play, sometimes I do things without thinking. Yes, we all want to win for ourselves but we want to win for each other.
"Over the past two games there are things we still have to fix. We beat Ulster in the first game but there were things we weren't happy about in the second-half.
"Coming into Leinster we had a lot to prove there, they beat us twice last year and they won the interpro series - it was personal that we wanted to win against them and, no matter, we wanted to do it for each other as well."
Connacht's UL Bohs contingent are an interesting addition to the mix for this weekend's game in Galway.
"There are two wingers Clara Barrett and Laoise McGonagle and then they have the hooker Lily Brady and second-row Eva McCormack and they all play for Bohs.
"I was lucky enough to do the Celtic challenge on the Clover team (Connacht/Munster XV) so we probably know each other inside out at this stage.
"I've played with Faith Oviawe in both the Celtic Cup and Sevens and she's some player, there is Maebh (Deely), Éabha (Nic Dhonnacha), Ivana (Kiripati), they have loads of good players coming through, they are a quality.
"Let's not forget they beat Leinster last year and we couldn't beat Leinster."
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