Denis Leamy argues that Munster players have been "harshly treated" by Ireland coach Joe Schmidt and has questioned the inclusion of several "Leinster fringe men" in the squad, in his Irish Independent column today.
Leamy opened his piece by predicting that Ireland would win tomorrow but he went on to say "you don't have to go far in this region to hear people's dissatisfaction that there are so few Munster players involved."
He acknowledged that Leinster have been the strongest side at Heineken Cup level in the past few years but also wrote:
Yet, I think what rankles with Munster people – and I suspect a similar view might be held by some folk up in Ulster – is that guys who aren't first choice in Leinster are still good enough for the national squad.
Leamy bemoaned the absence of Donncha Ryan and Tommy O'Donnell, and queried the inclusion of Rhys Ruddock and Jordi Murphy in their place. And he, like most Munster supporters, is mystified by the absence of Simon Zebo. He also disagrees with the decision to replace Paddy Jackson with Ian Madigan on the bench.
It is one thing losing your place on the team to a player coming back from injury or something like that, but Tommy O'Donnell lost his place on the bench. I can't see what he did wrong in the short roles that he had against Scotland and Wales and, in any event, I think he is a better player than Jordi Murphy.
Also, I would argue that Donncha Ryan brings more to the table than Rhys Ruddock, and you just have to wonder what Simon Zebo – a Lion last summer, let's not forget – has to do to get back into a squad where the likes of Tommy Bowe and Luke Fitzgerald have been out injured all through.
You can see where Munster supporters feel there is too much of an emphasis on Leinster players, and I also think that Paddy Jackson has a more rounded game at the moment than Ian Madigan.
