There is a picture of Ian Keatley that sums up his overriding love for his team over any sense of personal ambition of grievance.
In the summer of 2011, he arrived from Connacht and set his sights on making the Munster No.10 jersey his own.
As the season started, Munster’s long-term 10, Ronan O’Gara, was over in New Zealand as Ireland reached the World Cup quarter finals. Keatley got a run of six consecutive starts for the reigning champions and kicked 73 points. He was settling in very well but, once O’Gara returned, he found himself playing back-up.
A couple of months into the season and Munster were in a hole as Northampton Saints led at Thomond Park. Munster were battling back in the closing stages and O’Gara was calling the shots. There was no way Keatley would be replacing him.
The call was the right one, it transpired, as O’Gara slotted over the matchwinning drop goal after 41 nerve-shredding phases. Everyone remembers O’Gara’s roar and fist pump but Keatley is the other man that stands out in the iconic image. There in his yellow bib having missed out on the magic but eager to share in the moment.
Munster, and all it stands for, was already taking hold on the Dubliner.
The former Belvedere College player spent a season with the Leinster squad before heading west to make a name for himself. Munster identified him as a man to challenge O’Gara and that he did. The Cork native retired in 2013 and Keatley has had a few runs as the province’s first choice No.10.
Anthony Foley placed his faith in Keatley, at the expense of JJ Hanrahan, during his tenure as head coach but Tyler Bleyendaal was Munster’s main man as they reached the Guinness PRO12 final, and Champions Cup semis, last season. With Hanrahan returning from Northampton and James Hart – another goal-kicking option – arriving from Racing 92, there was strong talk of Keatley moving on.
Keatley told The Hard Yards that a move away from Munster was seriously considered but a life-changer closer to home helped make his mind up. He says:
“Me and my partner Lisa are expecting a baby soon. It’s going to be an exciting time in our lives…
“I thought about moving away but then I had to think about what was best for myself and my family – what would be easier for my partner and the new arrival. It would be easy, if we moved away, for me to make friends as I would have the rugby community and I’d see them every day. But Lisa may be at home with the baby every day, on her own.
“So that was a big consideration in staying or moving.”
France’s Top 14 was mooted as a destination but it was English clubs that expressed an interest in securing Keatley’s services. Ultimately, family came first but he was also keen to help Munster push on.
Keatley concedes that he did have some worries when he learned that Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber – the men that had convinced him he had a future at Munster – announced early in preseason that they would be returning to South Africa in the near future.
“It took my back for a bit because they were one of the reasons that I decided to sign on, stay, and learn and grow as a player from them. On a personal level, even though they are going, I’ve enjoyed my time at Munster and I have grown – not only as a player but as a person – through my time here. Highs and lows.
“I’m just excited, with a new arrival in my life, how the next two seasons are going to go – on and off the field.”
Life will undoubtedly change for Keatley and his partner in the coming weeks and months, and for the better. The constant for the next couple of years will be a team that has always had a strong bond and one that was only soldered tighter by the ups and downs of an unforgettable, at times, heartbreaking 2016/17 season.
“I’ve been six years at Munster,” says Keatley, “and this [contract] will take me to eight years. I love it here. I love playing in Thomond Park and Musgrave Park.
“This is my home here now.”
