MUNSTER ASSISTANT COACH Denis Leamy has confirmed that the province will not be signing Springboks hooker Malcolm Marx.
The southern province have been repeatedly linked with the World Cup winner in recent months, but Leamy says Munster won’t be bringing in Marx, who currently plays his club rugby in Japan.
“I’d like to work with Malcolm Marx, but there’s nothing in it,” said Leamy this afternoon.
“There’s nothing there for us. No, that’s not something that’s happening, to be as clear about that as I can.
“Look, obviously we look in different areas of the market but that’s not a conversation that’s ongoing.”
It remains to be seen if Munster bring in a new hooker next season, with Niall Scannell having been linked with a move to Johann van Graan’s Bath when his contract expires in the summer.
While Munster are in the midst of a busy period of the season, with Northampton visiting Thomond Park this weekend, there is lots of contract and recruitment work happening in the background as Graham Rowntree looks to put his stamp on the squad.
“With the contract stuff, it’s part of our business but we try to leave that to one side,” said Leamy.
“It’s all about performance and what’s in front of us, which is Northampton this weekend. There’s contract talks ongoing all the time and that’s dealt with by Wig [Rowntree] and he takes care of that an awful lot.
“Thankfully, from my point of view as an assistant coach along with Mike Prendergast and Andi Kyriacou, we don’t really have to focus on that. Wig will give us weekly updates or monthly updates on that sort of stuff. That business goes on but everyone focuses on one goal and that’s performance.”
Munster trained at Thomond Park today as they prepare for Saturday afternoon’s clash with the visiting English side and Leamy said there have been some tough selection calls to settle on.
“There’s some really interesting debates happening in the mornings when we discuss teams,” said the former Ireland international.
“It’s very interesting to see the different coaches with different ideas. Like, I want a chop-tackler, the forwards coaches want a lineout option… everyone’s fighting for their different type of player and it’s really interesting discussions.
“We have a lot of options, a lot of guys playing really well. The back row is very hotly contested, the centres, the back three, and it’s very exciting. We have a really difficult job to pick a team this week.
“We’re trying to put out the best team that represents us for this weekend. Because you pick teams differently depending on the opposition you’re playing. So picking a team for Northampton is a real challenge.”
Get instant updates on your province on The42 app. With Laya Healthcare, official health and wellbeing partner to Leinster, Munster and Connacht Rugby.
I’d never even pretend to be much of a football fan, but when this crisis is over I’ll make a point of going to a couple of games. Might only be 15-20€ for a ticket but multiply that by 500 people and it would be a great help to any LOI club.
@Con Al: That’s about the same cost of three pints in Cork city it’s not a huge amount , few beers before and find a nice beer garden after. Football and beer on a Friday evening what more can you ask for..
@Con Al: not all hero’s wear capes
@Con Al: i used to love going to the Cross when i loved in Cork. Always had a good time.wish locals would support the club more. It’s nothing but a plus for the city to have a successful club going well.
@Con Al: you won’t be disappointed Con. I’ve been bringing my son to rovers home games for the last year and a half. We love spending Friday nights watching good football in a great atmosphere. From epic games against Dundalk and Bohs to sunshine drenched euro games, nothing beats being there as the action unfolds. If only more people knew the joy of watching live football. I’m a lifelong Liverpool fan, but I enjoy going to live games as much as watching Liverpool now. It’s great to support your local team.
They can call it what they like. It will always be referred to as “The Cross”. Or for oldies like myself, The Box.
I’m the meantime maybe it would be an idea to rename the Delaney Stand. Just saying like…
The English Market Turners Cross.
Great club, Irish football needs them, hope they get through these difficult times.
The Double Cross
The Kellogg’s box
Try to get Ford involved nothing better than a load of yanks with roots to Cork owning a football club. Surely Clonakilty Pudding could step in, and get a tax relief from the gov.