An impromptu wrestling match on St Stephen’s Day reassured many that the Irish secondrow stocks will be strong for some time to come.
Such was the ferocity of the Munster vs Leinster contest in the rain, at one point young locks Joe McCarthy (22) and Edwin Edogbo (21) literally grappled with each other at the side of a ruck.
For so long Ireland has lamented its inability to produce large locks of a bruising size profile. Now they have two, both born this century. An older family member would joke about these secondrows being like the 46A; you wait ages for one only for two to then come along.
But for the time being, quite likely the rest of this season at least, just one of these promising locks will be on display with Munster confirming that Edogbo will go for surgery on the serious Achilles injury that saw him stretchered off the park on Tuesday.
“We were all excited about where he was going, so it’s a real shame that he’s not able to continue that this season,” said forwards coach Andi Kyriacou. “We saw it instantly in the game and all our heads were in our hands, absolutely devastated for him.”
This is Edogbo’s third significant Achilles injury having missed 10 months in 2021 and a further four in 2022.
With Jean Kleyn still sidelined by an eye injury and RG Snyman out until the spring, Edogbo had taken up the mantle of Munster’s enforcer this season. Such was his success on both sides of the ball, 10 defenders beaten, 41 tackles made and four turnovers won, some were wondering if Edogbo was forcing himself into the conversation about Ireland’s group of secondrows, granted that is a congested area.
“He’s a kid that’s worked incredibly hard at his game, at his craft,” explains Kyriacou. “He’s showed huge improvements in the technical side, specifically in and around the tight stuff in the forwards side of the game.
“His mauling is incredible. Some of the stuff he did against Leinster at the weekend was superb in that area, specifically in the way he cleans people out in phase play. The way he’s putting shots in defensively, he was looking good.”
Praise for the maul stands out given that is an area where Munster have struggled this season, most notably in a victory over Glasgow where multiple scores were conceded from that set-piece. However, against Leinster, the maul defence was markedly improved with one particular stop giving the province momentum in the first half.
“It’s been an area we’ve constantly looked to get better at and develop,” acknowledged Kyriacou. “We’ve just looked at how we can be a little cuter in that area, how we can utilise the players we’ve got currently to stop the momentum that Glasgow put against us in that game.
“The lads have bought in to the things we’ve put in place, we’ve trained it hard, there’s been a lot of classroom stuff in terms of our roles and responsibilities. It was pleasing to see against a class outfit like that [Leinster] that we were able to put a stop to it and no maul tries from that game.”
Following Tuesday’s loss, head coach Graham Rowntree suggested that Munster may look for short term injury cover. With the aforementioned Snyman and Kleyn joined on the sidelines by Fineen Wycherley and Tadhg Beirne, not to mention Tom Ahern deputising in the backrow for Peter O’Mahony, Munster’s depth at lock has been severely tested.
[ Succession talk turns to Peter O’Mahony’s Munster six jerseyOpens in new window ]
The news is slightly better on that front a few days later. Beirne’s availability for Monday’s clash with Connacht has been confirmed. Wycherley is also nearing a return, with a decision on his readiness for the upcoming interpro to be made later this week.
Injuries away from the second row continue to build up, with Dave Kilcoyne and Diarmuid Barron seeking a surgeon’s opinion on a shoulder and foot injury respectively, while Alex Nankivell is to have a scan on his ankle.
Despite the lengthy list, Kyriacou played down the talk of a short-term signing.
“We’ve got good lads here at the minute that we’ll look to keep developing and bring through, but there’s no getting away from it, it is tough when you do have a physio room that’s loaded up with talent as ours is at the moment. We’ll drive on, it’s what we do.”
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