Joey Carbery has not even played a game for Munster yet and he is already being likened to the province’s all-time leading points scorer Ronan O’Gara by his Irish teammates.
Carbery signed a two-year deal with Munster last week as the 22-year-old looks to gain increased playing time next season ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.
Carbery is one of three fly-halves selected on Ireland’s tour of Australia and new clubmate Conor Murray revealed at Ireland’s first press conference down under that the former Leinster utility has been nicknamed ‘ROG’ by his Ireland teammates.
“Yeah, definitely, there’s a bit of slagging at the moment, calling him ROG!” Carbery told reporters (via Irish Independent).
“It’s great, it makes sense for Joey especially. He’s looking to get more game-time, he’s going to have to come down to Munster and compete for a place because there are lads who are hungry to have the No 10 jersey too because you’ve quite a few No 10s there now.
“Joey will boost our squad massively, he’s a class player. He’s 22, he’s learnt so much and has a lot of experience.
“You can even see what he’s learnt off Johnny, he steps in when Johnny steps out for reps and he’s well able to take hold of the team and control what’s going on.
“It’s very exciting. Game-time is when your partnership starts to grow properly but hanging around with him and getting to know him over the last few years has been brilliant and that’ll definitely help when he comes down to Munster and start to build something there.
“He’s a top-quality player and it’s really exciting for Munster and Ireland.”
Former Munster and Ireland flanker David Wallace is thrilled with the acquisition of Carbery and feels his old province could definitely challenge for silverware next season.
Wallace was a two-time Heineken Cup winner with Munster and he feels the new arrivals will definitely help the team to take steps forward from their recent close calls.
“Getting to play with Conor Murray and build up their combination is such a plus for him. He is such an exciting talent and he will bring his own capabilities to bear on Munster’s style of play. He will soften defences and create space for the lads outside him.
“The new additions Munster have made have them ripe and well set for a fantastic year, next year. Joey will be centre to that but his arrival forces the envelope for the other outhalves on the books too. They have to get up to his standards if they are to challenge for the jersey.”
