Mulldoon and Cronin to face the All Blacks

Date Published: 09-Jun-2010

Dara Bradley

 THE heart and soul of Connacht rugby over the past few seasons, Portumna’s John Muldoon, is relishing the prospect of squaring-up to New Zealand back row Richie McCaw, who was voted the best rugby player on the planet in 2009, when he lines out against the All Blacks on Saturday.

Muldoon will start alongside seasoned Ireland back row performers, Jamie Heaslip and David Wallace, as he faces the biggest test of his career to date in Ireland’s first summer tour test at Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth at 7.35pm (8.35am Irish time, live on Sky Sports). The test match will be the Connacht captain’s first international cap against top-tier opposition.

The 27-year-old, who was man-of-the-match for Ireland against the Barbarians last Friday, was capped twice already against Canada and USA last June but admitted that this match is “a massive step-up” for him.

And there was good news on the double for Connacht Rugby as Seán Cronin, a revelation for the province last season, was given the nod by Ireland boss Declan Kidney to start at hooker. Cronin, who made his debut off the bench against Fiji last November, will start his first game for Ireland on Saturday.

“It’s a massive day for me. It doesn’t come any bigger than the All Blacks on their home patch,” said Muldoon. “I’m really looking forward to it.

We are up against the best back-row in the World and any back-row with Richie McCaw in it is a daunting task. I suppose if we can get parity with them as a unit and maybe get a little on top of them in the back row we can do well. It’s a big occasion and a big ask but there’s no better time to do it,” added Muldoon.

The Portumna man, who made his senior debut with Connacht in 2003, has waited seven years to make the breakthrough to playing with ‘the big boys’ of international rugby and the whole Portumna community and rugby fans all over Connacht will be shouting for him on Saturday.

“I was talking to John yesterday after the team was announced but John is John – he’s very laid back but of course he’s delighted. Deep down he’s probably over the moon although he wouldn’t be one to jump up and down about it. He’s worked very hard for it and we’re all delighted he finally got the big match,” said Muldoon’s sister, Olivia.

A gang of Muldoon’s friends will be watching the match at his house and his home house at Gortanumera will also be bursting with friends and neighbours who will join Olivia, his mother Clare, father John, and brothers Ivan and Conor.

“This is much bigger (than the previous two caps); this is a massive match. He’s relishing the chance and hopefully he’ll do well. They are big lads he’ll be playing against and even when they are doing the Haka they would be scary even to look at,” chuckles Olivia, adding her family and the wider Portumna community are thrilled.

“My parents are proud as punch. My mother is beaming from ear to ear. Daddy never gets too excited and wouldn’t praise you too much but you know he’s delighted as well. Everyone is ringing the house and stopping them in the street. There’s a great buzz about Portumna – people who wouldn’t normally even know there’s a tour on would be coming up to us and saying they saw John on the telly and wishing him well.

Everyone knows it’s going on now and John is a part of it. We are all proud of him and just hope he plays well and can go on from there for the rest of the tour.“It can be hard sometimes (watching John play); it’s not too bad when you’re at the match but when you’re so far away and watching it on telly it can be hard. You’d be nervous all right; it’s a pity it’s on so early because we could do with a drink beforehand to settle the nerves!”

The Connacht Rugby branch was in jubilant mood this week, too, and pleased that the extraordinary season just gone – particularly their impressive run in the European Challenge Cup – brought the westerners’ main stars to the attention of the Irish management. “It’s a huge, huge boost for Connacht and one of the best pieces of news we’ve had in a long, long time,” enthused Gerry Kelly CEO of Connacht Rugby.

“It is a tremendous achievement for the two guys; they are delighted and over the moon. This is great for Connacht – it gives the underage lads a boost and something big to aspire to. “That’s the other really positive thing about this because the two lads were actually capped out of Connacht whereas in other instances guys would have gone away and maybe been capped and then (come back) to Connacht. It actually also justifies the decision that Seán (Cronin) made to come up here to play for Connacht from Munster,” added Kelly.