Meath duo prominent for Munster

Meath duo Denis Hurley and Neil Ronan gave Irish coach Declan Kidney a timely reminder of what they are capable of producing when they helped Munster to a deserved victory over Ulster in the Magners League on Saturday. In front of the Thomond Park crowd and the television cameras, Hurley ended a long run without scoring a try when he rumbled over in the corner after 52 minutes to give Munster the lead for the first time in the game. From then on Munster moved up to another level and ran out comfortable winners by 35-10. Such a victory appeared to be a highly unlikely scenario at the break when they trailed 6-10. Three of Munster's four tries were scored in the final seven minutes. Also part of the Munster side was former Meath minor footballer Ronan who was not selected for Munster's last two Heineken Cup games. However, he made his return to action for the two Magners League games over Christmas and New Year against Connacht and Ulster. While Ronan would love to get back into the Irish squad his immediate task is to nail down a place in the Munster back-row with a number of highly experienced and polished performers also looking for one of the positions available. “The first thing I want to do is get my place on the Munster team. There is a lot of competition in the back row with David Wallace and Alan Quinlan and guys like that around. You're competing against them which is very difficult,†he told the Meath Chronicle. “All I can do is keep training and try and make an impression, I hope to get more chances in the next couple of weeks.†Ronan make the breakthrough onto the senior international stage last summer when he was selected on the Irish squad for the tour to New Zealand and Australia. He played against the Barbarians, the New Zealand Maoris and the Aussies. “That was a great experience and I was happy with the way I played, unfortunately I wasn't involved in the November internationals. There's a lot of competition in the Irish back row with Sean O'Brien from Leinster now added to the list. “David Wallace is obviously number one, as he is with Munster. It's difficult, but you just have to keep going and see what happens, you just don't know what might happen in the future.†Ronan says he is happy to continue playing for Munster despite the intense competition for places and recently he signed a one-year extension to his contract. “I'm enjoying myself with Munster, I've signed for another year and I hope to finish my career here. All I can do is keep playing as well as I can.†Leinster also recorded a win in the Magners League on Saturday, defeating Connacht 30-8 with Devin Toner turning out in his customary lock forward position.