Magners League: Three things to watch

Ahead of another weekend of Magners League action, JOE picks out three things to look out for in the games involving the Irish provinces.

By Conor Heneghan

The disappointing form of Ruan Pienaar

There was plenty of hype surrounding Pienaar’s arrival at Ulster, which was seen as a massive coup for Brian McLaughlin’s side. Teammates and coaches alike spoke giddily about the South African after his arrival, using buzz phrases like ‘the Ruan factor’ to describe the impact his signing had on the province.

After a couple of outstanding performances upon his arrival, however, Pienaar has failed to light up Ravenhill as it had been both hoped and expected. Of the massive South African contingent in the province, certainly BJ Botha, Johann Muller and Robbie Diack could argue they have had a greater impact, but maybe it is a bit harsh on Pienaar considering that he is still in the early stages of his Ulster career.

The talent that Pienaar possesses is without question and he has plenty of time left this season to showcase it on a more regular basis, starting with Treviso on Friday night and the remaining Heineken Cup pool games in the next fortnight.

Luke Fitzgerald at full back

Fitzgerald returns to the Leinster side for the first time since injuring his knee while on international duty against the All-Blacks in November and not before time too, with the Blues’ final two Heineken Cup games and the Six Nations just around the corner.

Fitzgerald begins tonight’s game against the Ospreys at full back, which is where many pundits and indeed the man himself would like to play on a more long term basis. Fitzgerald has safe hands and a good enough positional sense to cope from a defensive point of view, but his threat on the counter-attack would be the biggest thing he has to offer in the number 15 jersey.

Fitzgerald is a steady presence under the high ball

Fitzgerald is arguably more of an attacking threat than Rob Kearney at full-back, but the Louth man seems to have firmly established himself in the position, holding off competition from Geordan Murphy to do so. In any case, with the likely return of Isa Nacewa to the Leinster starting line-up for the Heineken Cup jousts with Saracens and Racing Metro, Fitzgerald will probably end up on the wing and will more than likely start there for Ireland against Italy early next month, even if Kearney fails to recover in time as Murphy is an automatic replacement.

Still it is nice to know that there is plenty of healthy competition for the full back position and when Murphy does eventually call it a day, Fitzgerald may well end up wearing 15 on a more regular basis.

The beginning of the end for John Hayes?

‘The Bull’ has been given a chance to start against the Warriors this weekend as Tony Buckley has been struck down with a virus, but it may be one of the last times we see him start a game for either Munster or Ireland. Given his outstanding service for province and country down through the years, it would not be right to go too hard on Hayes, but his time at the top level is most definitely running out.

Hayes has been reduced to cameo appearances for both Munster and Ireland as Buckley has edged ahead of him in the pecking order, but even at this stage Buckley is not sure of his place following a series of underwhelming performances for province and country.

Of the four provinces, Munster’s scrum is arguably the weakest, something which was blatantly illustrated in the recent Heineken Cup meetings with the Ospreys. The front row will surely be a priority when Munster go recruiting and as far as Ireland is concerned, Mike Ross is crying out for a shot at international level, while it could be said that even loosehead Tom Court offers a better option on that side of the scrum than any of the Munster duo.

All things considered, at 37, it looks as if the Bull's days are numbered after what has been a career of outstanding service for Munster and Ireland.