Ronan enjoying life with Munster

EXAMPLES of a Meath man turning out for Munster in any sporting context are as rare as New Zealand losing a senior rugby international. The All-Blacks don"t do defeat apart from those truly exceptional occasions when a tiny chink of vulnerability is found in their normally impenetrable armoury. Last month an experimental Munster selection that included Meath man Niall Ronan almost caught the All-Blacks out on one of those nights of high emotion at Thomond Park. The venue rocked and the team in red almost rolled over the mighty Kiwis. For long spells the home side led the way only to be caught out in the closing minutes with a last-gasp try from New Zealand"s world class winger Joe Rokocoko. Some of the players on the fringe of the Munster squad did their reputations no harm that night and among them was the 26-year-old Ronan. The man from Bettystown took his place in the Munster back-row and had a stormer. He was in the thick of the action except for the final few minutes when exhaustion took over and he was substituted. 'I didn"t know beforehand if I was going to be playing in that game or not. I got the nod and it was an unbelievable experience, one that I will never forget,' he told the Meath Chronicle. 'We were all well up for it, the fans were up for it and that gave us a massive lift. We played well and were three or four minutes away from beating the All-Blacks.' Now in his second year with Munster it has taken some time for Ronan to make his mark with the current European champions. He got his chance against the All-Blacks and took it. He further cemented his place in the squad with his performance against Clermont Auvergne last week including a gem of a try that helped to rescue Munster from what looked like certain, and an extremely rare, home defeat. Ronan"s kick ahead and chase completely wrong-footed the Clermont Auvergne defence. The Meath man switched on the after-burners, ran through to get the touchdown leaving a number of Clermont players in his slipstream. Thomond Park went wild as the supporters celebrated yet another home win. The unique connection between the Thomond Park crowd and Ronan O"Gara, Paul O"Connell & Co has been put down as one of the reasons for Munster"s power drive to the top of the European rugby and Ronan has a ring-side seat to observe how the alchemy works. 'The team spirit in Munster is incredible and it does lift the team. They"re so physical, their attitude before and during the game, the aggression. You get that off the other players and you bring it onto the pitch then. It"s things like that that matter in a tight game. They"re very dedicated and that makes you work harder, and that"s why they are champions of Europe.' Enjoying life in Limerick, Ronan wants to stay in the south-west for the immediate future at least and is prepared to put in the hard graft to make the most of the chance now presented to him. Ronan spent his early days in football with a round rather than an oval ball. He played for St Colmcille"s at IFC level while still a teenager. He was good enough to be selected for the Meath minor football teams for two years and counted players such as Shane McKeigue, Stephen MacGabhann, Stephen Bray and Tadhg Brosnan among his team-mates. He played against Dublin at Croke Park and scored a point although Meath lost heavily that day. Ronan"s backround is not steeped in rugby or Gaelic football. His father Finbarr was a skilful golfer and won the East of Ireland championship back in the 1980s, but there was no rugby. The skills learned at Gaelic football helped Niall Ronan when his rugby career did start to take off in earnest. Following in the footsteps of Shane Horgan he played with Boyne and caught the eye of the provincial and national selectors. He was capped for Ireland at u-19 and u-21 levels and made it into the Irish Academy. He also had a spell with Lansdowne. Connacht and Leinster offered professional contracts to the promising young backrower with pace to burn. Ronan spent four seasons with Leinster and among the coaches he worked under was Declan Kidney, the current Irish supremo. When the opportunities were restricted at 'Club Leinster," a one-year contract offered by Munster proved irresistible. That contract became a two-year offer and now Ronan is in the process of nailing down a regular place. His displays provoked some journalists to suggest that he might even get a call up to the Irish squad although the player himself has a different viewpoint. 'I don"t look at it that way. I want to be a regular on the Munster team first before I think about anything else, they"re the best team in the country. Look at the strength in depth in the squad, especially the backrow, you can"t be looking too far ahead of yourself. ' I just want to be playing Heineken Cup games on a regular basis. Against Clermont there was a massive atmosphere, a big hype, I"m thinking more Munster than any further, at the moment anyway. As a Meath man living in Limerick, Ronan receives his share of slagging in the Munster dressingroom and training ground for his accent, but it"s all worthwhile when he gets an opportunity to play against the likes of the Clermont or even the great, all-conquering All-Blacks, one of the few Meath men to get such an opportunity.