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'Doesn't look happy': Munster slammed for disrespecting Ireland captain
By Josh Raisey
Munster great Alan Quinlan has criticised the way the club have treated Ireland captain and his former teammate Peter O’Mahony in recent weeks.
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The 34-year-old only managed 46 minutes of Munster’s United Rugby Championship quarter-final victory over the Ospreys on Friday, which is not the first time that he has failed to see the 50-minute mark since returning to club duty after the Six Nations.
Speaking on Off The Ball this week, Quinlan hinted that there could be a rift between the club’s former captain and head coach Graham Rowntree, saying he sees shades of how he was treated himself towards the end of his career.
O’Mahony was replaced by Jack O’Donoghue against the Ospreys, an Ireland international himself, and Quinlan was quick to highlight the strength of Munster’s bench. However, he stressed that the 105-cap Ireland international is being taken off when he still has plenty to give.
The challenge for Munster only increases this weekend as they host Glasgow Warriors at Thomond Park in their pursuit of defending their URC title. Quinlan, and many Munster supporters, will surely be curious to see how long the flanker lasts.
“I don’t like the way Peter O’Mahony’s being treated at the moment in the sense of being taken off early in matches,” Quinlan said.
“I think he doesn’t look happy, I don’t think it’s the right decision, I think it’s premeditated.
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“We’ve spoken a lot about Munster’s bench recently and the impact, that’s been very good but he’s coming off after the 45th or 46th minute last week, it could have been even earlier.
“It was done to me at the end of my career, and you have a decision made before a game that you’re taking a player off early.
“He’s 34, it’s not as if he’s a pensioner.
“I think he deserves a bit more respect than that.
“It doesn’t look right to me.”