Munster Rugby welcome the return of their big three at just the right time to URC action
Tadhg Beirne, Peter O'Mahony and Jack Crowley will demand a response from the Munster squad against Ospreys in Cork after their shock URC defeat to Zebre
The return of Munster's big three for the game after the shock of their defeat in Zebre is "a big bonus," admits Denis Leamy.
New captain Tadhg Beirne, his predecessor Peter O'Mahony and the Reds' first-choice No.10 Jack Crowley will all make their season bow against the Ospreys at Virgin Media Park on Saturday.
The hugely influential trio were put on ice after their efforts with Ireland on the summer tour in South Africa and they sat out the first fortnight of URC action as part of the IRFU's player welfare programme.
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Munster won their opener against Connacht only to collapse in the second half at Zebre, losing for the first time to the Italian minnows.
Graham Rowntree will be relieved to have his three main leaders back for the round three fixture and defence coach Leamy explained why they make such a difference.
“The white heat of battle is very interesting, that’s why they’re the best players – they’re good in that battle sense," he said.
“In some ways, whatever happens during the week and in the build-up to a game, a player can be relaxed and not a brilliant trainer, but what happens in that 80 minutes decides whether you’re a great player or not.
“And those two (Beirne and O'Mahony) and Jack, hopefully, is on his way, they’re great players - they’ve been great players for Munster and for Ireland and in the heat of battle they’ve got a calmness, a violence, a skillset and an athleticism.
“They’ve got an ability to call on whatever weapon they need at any given moment and that’s the beauty in having players like that, their experience is great for us at the weekend. A big bonus.”
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