Tug of war over prop idol Salanoa will add new life to Munster-Leinster rivalry

Ruaidhri O'Connor

Roman Salanoa joined Munster from Leinster. Photo: Sportsfile

May 15 2020 02:30 AM

The name Roman Salanoa does not yet ring out across the Irish sporting landscape. It remains to be seen whether it ever will.

And yet, the impending transfer of the Hawaiian-born former USA U-20 international from Leinster to Munster has caused a stir in the rugby world. When you're tipping the scales at 19 stone at the age of 22, it's hard not to make some sort of impact.

Salanoa's is a very modern tale in Irish rugby. Eddie O'Sullivan helped bring him to Old Belvedere in 2017. Leinster added him to their sub-Academy. This season, he played three times off the bench in the Guinness PRO14.

His genetic make up separates him from the crowd. This year, he qualifies to play for Ireland and given his physical gifts and potential the IRFU have taken an interest.

Irish rugby has made strides in developing the stocks at tighthead, but there is no place for complacency in a position that requires men of a certain heft.

As with all other areas of the game, Leinster have stolen a march on their rivals and when IRFU performance director David Nucifora reviewed his depth chart he'll have seen the disparity between the eastern province and their rivals.

The level of IRFU involvement always differs depending on who you talk to. Joe Schmidt insists he was something of an innocent bystander in Joey Carbery's move south, whereas Leinster will tell you a different story.

From the detached perspective of Nucifora, this was a simple solution to a clear problem.

Connacht were the first to present themselves as an option, just as Ulster were with Carbery. Munster saw the opportunity and convinced the youngster that his route to an Ireland jersey is best served in Limerick.

Leinster are miffed because they had already green-lighted the departure of tighthead Jack Aungier to Connacht and were planning for next season with Salanoa as part of their squad. As they see it, his head has been turned by headquarters.

Like his soon-to-be new team-mate Keynan Knox of South Africa, Salanoa is being earmarked as a potential Ireland international.

For the duration of Johann van Graan's time in charge, Munster have had Stephen Archer (32) and John Ryan (31) as the pillars of their scrum.

Both are good players who have earned Ireland recognition, but neither could be described as being particularly dynamic propositions like a Tadhg Furlong or Andrew Porter. That is the level Munster aspire to get to and, if you listen closely to Andy Farrell you'll hear the words dynamism, athleticism and aggression time and again.

Van Graan has a lot of good, homegrown talent coming through the Academy, but not a lot of it is at tighthead prop so Munster have taken the decision to look elsewhere.

Salanoa brings them something different. His technical work at the set-piece needs work, but his explosive carrying, tackling and rucking - his sheer size - mark him out as a contender.

As well as encouraging player movement, it's imperative that Nucifora is asking questions as to why Munster are not producing the goods in this crucial position.

In particular, the fact that scrum-half Craig Casey is the only Academy player from Limerick should set off alarm bells.

Van Graan's tenure will be judged by first-team performance and he'll want to have Salanoa up to speed as soon as possible .

Leinster, meanwhile, feel once again their hard work has been undermined.

Furlong and Porter are set to be away with Ireland for long stretches when rugby eventually returns, they'll argue that Salanoa would have got plenty of game-time this season and next.

After Jack McGrath's move to Ulster, Leinster chief executive Mick Dawson warned against that "forced migration" that is creeping into Irish rugby. Nucifora will simply point to two factors and turn the other cheek.

For one thing, players who leave Leinster tend to find that things aren't so bad outside the bubble and, for all that Leinster will gnash their teeth at the loss of such talent they have demonstrated a proven ability to remain the top dogs even when they lose their prospects.

Some say it will dilute the provincial identity and undermine the rivalry, but Leinster's dominance is doing far more damage than 'migration' ever will and the fan reaction suggests it's added some spice to what's becoming a tepid relationship.

That it's taken a Hawaiian prop with ambitions of playing for Ireland is very modern Irish rugby phenomenon.