Keane wants to turn Leinster derby clash into a celebration
Ordinarily, an inter-provincial fixture against Leinster would be enough to whet the appetite. That it coincides with the last game of the season – and a home game at that – would certainly add to it.
However, all those sub-plots to Connacht’s PRO14 clash with Leinster at the Sportsgrounds this Saturday (3.05pm) have well and truly been superseded by the fact that this will be captain John Muldoon’s last time in a Connacht jersey as he retires from playing from the game.
On Saturday, Muldoon will line out for the 327th time for the province – a statistic Connacht Head coach Kieran Keane has described as “incredible”. Indeed, this season, he remarked, his side have played 27 fixtures, with Muldoon starting in 20 of them and coming off the bench for another four.
“That shows the resilience of the man at the tender age that he is,” praised Keane. “I think that resilience, toughness, want, and pride – he has got a lot of pride in himself and his club – are wonderful traits and he will be sadly missed.”
Believing Saturday’s game should be “a celebration” of the playing career of Connacht’s greatest warrior, Keane confided that he found the experience the Portumna native brought to the set-up invaluable in his first season in charge.
“Because he is so well-respected among his peers, it has been easy to move things across to his side of the desk, and get [those] things done, to let me find my feet,” noted Keane, who said he had already got a sense of Muldoon’s leadership qualities long before he boarded the airplane for Connacht.
“We had some long conversations on the telephone before I came over and it was pretty obvious to me that ‘Mul’ knew what he was about. He is an honest man and he didn't fudge things, which suited me. I asked him to stay involved and stay as captain. So, he has given me a big leg-up personally and he is a good fellow.”
Keane believed the traits Muldoon showed as a leader within the group would also stand the out-going Connacht captain in good stead as he takes up his position as defence coach at Pat Lam’s Bristol this Summer – although Keane quipped he might find things a little different now on the other side of the fence.
“There will be a few surprises for him but certainly the manner in which he has held himself here at Connacht has been magnificent really and is to be applauded. The loyalty that he has shown us has been second to none and all those qualities will hold him in good stead for the next challenge in his life.”
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.