Munster have had a very tough start to their URC campaign, with two straight losses to Cardiff on opening day and a 23 – 17 defeat to the Newport Gwent Dragons last Sunday.
One of the few bright sparks for Munster in the opening two games has been out-half Ben Healy. The Tipperary man scored 12 out of 17 points Munster mustered against the Dragons, including a well-executed second half try off the back of a rolling maul and a clever delayed pass from scrum half Craig Casey.
Speaking on Thursday’s Off The Ball, Ireland and Leinster legend Brian O’Driscoll reckons that Healy has the attributes to progress as a 10 and should be setting Joey Carberry’s jersey in his sights this season.
“I like Healy as a player, I think he’s a nice player, he plays with a swagger, he plays pretty direct to the line…he has a really good passing game in general, he’s got a huge boot as well. So, I think he should absolutely be earmarking putting proper pressure on Joey [Carberry] this year.” O’Driscoll said.
Confidence is key for Healy
O’Driscoll also noticed that Healy seems like a confident character that can block out the noise from the outside and not get too bogged down on mistakes, which is needed in a number 10. However, he did emphasize the fact that Healy will have to reduce errors in his game to build the confidence his teammates have in him.
“It’s most important of all players, that your out-half is a low error guy, that he does the simple things well, but when he does decide to pull out a little bit of magic or throw that long pass, that it’s accurate and stays in hand”
“He’s got the running game in him, he just needs to reduce the errors to make sure that everyone around him goes ok he’s the point of difference that we have, he’s the security guy, let’s play with him.”
Munster face Zebre Parma in their first home fixture of the season, in what will be a must win game for Graham Rowntree’s side. Kickoff is at 5.05pm in Musgrave Park.
Team of Us. Everyone In.
Vodafone. The main sponsor of the Irish Rugby Team
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
