IAN COSTELLO, yesterday's Munster head coach has said that 19-year-old full back Patrick Campell's brilliant display in the win over Wasps in Coventry is a “small event” in his career.
What a moment for Patrick Campbell 🙌
The 19-year old scores a try on his senior debut for Munster 🔴 #WASvMUN pic.twitter.com/plH1ApoMCf— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) December 12, 2021
The former Cork minor was one of the five Munster youngsters to make their competitive debut for the province last night and the youngster took to the rugby pitch like a duck to water. He scored a marvelous try in the second half.
He is no stranger to the big stage, as Campbell won an All-Ireland Minor Football Championship with Cork back in 2019.
Costello, the Munster academy manager, spoke to the Irish Independent and highlighted Campbell's big game mentality.
“This is a small crowd for Pat, he’s played in Croke Park in front of 50,000 people! It’s just a small event in his career,” Costello said.
“He’s a really composed young player. How many AIL [All-Ireland League] games has he played? He’s played about 800 minutes this year. You go and watch him live and you get a real sense of confidence about where he’s at.
“His fundamentals are strong, he plays with huge confidence and that try he got was just a snapshot of what he’s done in the last couple of months for Young Munster, our ‘A’ team … It was fantastic to watch.”
Another debutant Scott Buckley, an academy hooker was named man of the match for his efforts. He scored a try like Campbell. The 21-year-old was spotted on the bench delighted with the award.
Christmas has come early for Scott Buckley 🎄
And that smile from the 21-year-old @Munsterrugby hooker sums it up 😁#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/gY5rap5JtD— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) December 12, 2021
Munster's bonus point win will be sweeter with 33 players out due to the Covid-19, South Africa debacle. 12 players made their debuts.
Wasps had significant troubles of their own of course, as five players in their match-day squad were forced to pull out of the game at late notice due to Covid-19 cases in their squad, while a red card for captain Brad Shields in the 24th minute also didn’t help.
Still, very few would have predicted a Munster win when it became clear that the bulk of their squad would be unavailable for the match, and the southern province now look likely to progress to the knockout stages of the Heineken Champions Cup.
Cork football's loss is Munster's gain
Patrick Campbell is a smooth operatorpic.twitter.com/fufaekzc3N— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) December 13, 2021
See More: Munster, Patrick Campbell., Scott Buckley
