‘It’s Always Such A Good Battle’ – Flannery And Corey Preview Munster v Leinster

After winning back-to-back titles, Munster lost their grip on the trophy twelve months ago when Leinster defeated them twice in the space of a week, winning 26-19 at Energia Park before prevailing 33-14 in the final at Virgin Media Park.

Both teams enjoyed solid starts to the new season last week, albeit that Munster’s winning margin against Ulster was just seven points after putting four tries on the board inside the first 33 minutes.

“We were definitely happy enough to get the bonus point win. We showed some glimpses of what we can do, the good stuff that we can do,” admitted out-half Flannery, who is in her third senior Interpro campaign with Munster.

“But we also learned a lot about ourselves, as in what we need to work on, so (we’re) just excited to get back training and work on what we need to do.

“I think we started very well and we took a good lead in the first half, and I think we maybe switched off in the second half which we definitely can’t allow, as the other teams will take advantage as Ulster did.

“I think it’s more of a mindset where we need to switch on for the two halves, like nothing’s going after the first half. We’ve definitely reviewed this and know we just need to up the work-rate in the second half especially.”

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The 20-year-old from Tipperary will win her 10th senior provincial cap on Saturday, pairing up again with Kerry’s Muirne Wall at half-back. She played twice against Leinster last season, including starting the final round robin game in Donnybrook.

Interestingly, tomorrow’s Cork clash (kick-off 4.45pm – live on TG4) will see Flannery come again some of her Ireland Under-20 team-mates from the recent Six Nations Women’s Summer Series – Ruth Campbell, Jane Neill, and the uncapped trio of Kelly Burke, Jade Gaffney, and Robyn O’Connor.

“I’m so excited, I’m so looking forward to it. It’s always such a good battle when we play Leinster. I think it’s come at a really good time, after the Ulster game we’ve seen what we can do and we know what we can work on.

“So, it will just be class to further improve and get to test ourselves against Leinster. It’s always a good one. The fact that it’s in Cork is even better.

“When you’re in Cork, you always know your’re at home. The crowd is just unreal, hearing them cheering us on when we really needed it in the second half against Ulster.

“Even at the end, just seeing how much people are out to support us. That will definitely play a part when we’re playing Leinster, when things are getting tough and they’re getting on top of us, just to know the support that’s behind us is class.”

Munster have had their own influx of youth and uncapped talent over the summer months, with six players earning their first caps during the Championship opener against Ulster.

Four of them were in the forwards, while a late change saw Aoife Corey replace the injured Eimear Considine at full-back, with Ballincollig’s Michelle O’Driscoll bumped up to the replacements bench to make her debut for the Reds.

Clare youngster Corey (22) anchored a potent back-three that produced four tries, made up of a superb solo effort from fellow Ennis RFC product Chisom Ugwueru, and a memorable first half hat-trick from Alana McInerney.

“I think our first half against Ulster was really, really good,” vice-captain Corey told the province’s website. “I think then, the second half, we deteriorated a bit. But we had a really good review and a really good training session after it.

“We’re really looking forward to this weekend now. We always look forward to playing Leinster, they really put up a good game against us.

“I think we’re focusing on our own game this week. We’ve trained really well and (are) just focusing on our own performance. Fixing all the wrongs that were made last weekend and really improving our game.

“The main thing was we didn’t have much possession of the ball in the second half against Ulster, and we weren’t as connected as we wanted to be in defence either.”

She added: “Going into this week, we’ve really nailed down on our attack and looking at that and getting that ball wide, feeding our wingers. Alanna scored three brilliant tries last weekend, and Chisom had her moment of magic as well.

“We’re going to look to hit them wide definitely, and defensively, I think we just need to be more connected. Leinster, they have great ball carriers and really strong players, so we know what they’re coming with.

“We know they like to keep the ball alive with their offloading game. We’ve had a look at that, but we’re really looking forward to getting out there on Saturday again, in front of our home fans.”

Corey has seen the Munster squad grow and develop over the years, having made her debut against Ulster in August 2021. There were some notable retirements last year, and new head coach Fiona Hayes has not be afraid to give youth its fling.

Even the province’s younger players are coming in now with increasing levels of experience thanks to their time in camp and on tour with the Ireland Under-18 15s and Sevens teams, and also the Ireland U-20s that played in the inaugural Summer Series in Parma last month.

Corey, who was part of the wider Ireland training panel for the 2023 Women’s Six Nations, commented: “I think the level every year, the standard is just growing and is getting higher and higher.

“A lot of the girls have been open to the international environments, like the Under-20 girls, the Under-18s had a campaign in March and they had Sevens campaigns too.

“So, there’s a lot of girls who have had experience in green jerseys who are holding standards high. We had six players making their debut last week, which was great.

“We’ve a really young team, loads of girls from the Under-20s who played with Ireland during the summer. It’s a great mix of girls. We’ve loads of experience and loads of new players as well.

“Even the new ones are so experienced despite being so young too, with Irish caps under their belts. I think we’re mixing really well.”