Following in the footsteps on fellow Munster men Tomás O’Leary and Darren Sweetnam.
Munster Rugby are right up against it with injuries. Peter O’Mahony isn’t ready to start the season, Francis Salli (after shoulder surgery) is out for four months and they have one fit senior outhalf.
Lost in the sporting noise today, Munster lose Francis Salli (shoulder) for four months. That province can't catch a bloody break
— Pat McCarry (@patmccarry) August 16, 2016
Ian Keatley is the only 10 ready to start the season, in September, but there is hope that versatile Tyler Bleyendaal could be ready to deputise.
The Kiwi won’t be ready to play Zebre in Munster’s first pre-season game, this weekend, so Munster director of rugby Rassie Erasmus is dipping into his academy.
Ardscoil Rís graduate Conor Fitzgerald has been training with the senior squad and could well make his bow against the Italian outfit. Fitzgerald’s brother Stephen is an Ireland U20 who has already featured for the seniors.
He played minor hurling for Limerick in 2014 and was party of the Treaty County side beaten 2-17 to 0-19 in the final at Croke Park.
In an interview with The Irish Times Erasmus predicted Fitzgerald is ‘going to do well’. He added:
“He’s been training from the beginning with us but he’s a young guy. He’s going to get an opportunity this weekend and sometimes guys like that get an opportunity and they just take it.
“There’s also pressure on some guys like that to come and perform all of a sudden. So the potential, it’s there but injury-wise it’s a bit of a worry for us.”
O’Leary and Sweetnam could certainly help Fitzgerald with the transition from minor hurler to professional rugby player – both had star turns for Cork’s minors in the past.
