Flannery relishing limelight
The spectre of Keith Wood will return to haunt England in tomorrow’s RBS Six Nations Championship finale against Ireland.
Hooker Jerry Flannery, arguably the find of this year’s championship, has made the giant leap from the replacements bench with Munster thanks to a helping hand from Ireland’s finest number two of all time.
“Last year I was getting frustrated and I contacted Killian Keane to ask if he could get Woody to come down and give me a hand,” he explained.
“You’d have questions you want to ask and it’s probably not as easy to ask Frankie (Sheahan) straight off because he’s your direct rival.
“Woody tweaked a few little things and he would be texting me before and after games with little bits of advice.
“He went to the same school as me and it’s brilliant to be able to talk to a fella like that who was the best in his position in the world.”
With the aid of some fine-tuning from Wood, Flannery has made the most of a neck injury to Munster rival Sheahan and a dip in form by Shane Byrne to establish himself as Ireland’s first-choice hooker.
Strong at the set-piece and deceptively quick and dynamic in the loose, the 27-year-old Flannery was arguably Ireland’s best player in their 15-9 win over Scotland, which set up the prospect of a second Triple Crown in three years.
Flannery, a firebrand in his early days, is also benefiting from a change of attitude, according to scrum-half Peter Stringer, a former college team-mate.
“He has so much passion and fire and he controls it a lot more than he used to,” said Stringer. “Back in those days he was a bit more of a head case.
“Being able to bring a little bit of fire into the team gives the guys around him a lift.”
Flannery, who made his Ireland debut in the autumn international against Romania, appreciates his lucky break and admits that he has mellowed with age.
“As the years have gone by, I’ve realised that the coach doesn’t want to pick a guy who might throw a punch or give away a stupid penalty,” he said.
“I’m learning all the time, getting to play with so many good players. Every week is a learning curve.
“If Frankie hadn’t got injured, I’d probably be still sitting on the bench for Munster. I wouldn’t wish the injury on him, it was just lucky that I got a chance.
“When you’re sitting on the bench so long, it’s hard to improve yourself as a player. There’s only so many times you can go up and bug the coach saying, give me a game’.
“I’m really relishing it. Having the Munster lads around me made it a lot easier.”
After starting the season with modest ambitions, Flannery is potentially 80 minutes away from a Triple Crown and a championship winners’ medal.
His opponent at Twickenham will be 26-year-old Bath hooker Lee Mears, who has been chosen to start his first match for England.
“I’ve seen him play a lot in the Premiership and he’s a really good player, a very accurate thrower and a serious ball-carrier,” said Flannery. “We’ll have to watch him carefully.
“I’ve watched the English play and it’s going to take a huge performance from us at the weekend.”
