MUNSTER OUT-HALF Ben Healy says initial discussions over extending his contract with the province are “heading in the right direction.”
Last season, Glasgow Warriors made an approach to sign the Scotland-qualified playmaker but Healy opted to remain with Munster on a one-year deal.
That contract is due to expire at the end of the current campaign but the 22-year-old is happy with the early talks over a new deal.
“Yes, there is movement,” said Healy yesterday. “Obviously I can’t divulge too much but yeah, heading in the right direction. I’m happy with the way things are looking.”
With Joey Carbery sidelined due to a fractured elbow, Healy was in Munster’s number 10 shirt for the recent Champions Cup win over Castres.
The Tipperary man had previously played off the bench in Europe but this was his first start in the Champions Cup.
“It was incredible,” said Healy. “It is just another stepping stone in your career that you dreamed about since you were however many years old when you started playing rugby. Even little things like finishing the warm-up and you do the half-lap when Pete [O'Mahony] is leading you round and you have the crowd standing shouting behind you, it’s special.
“The whole game was special. Obviously, the performance, there were a few things we picked out that we would have been looking for improvement on, but we got the result. It was my first start in a packed out Thomond Park on a European night, so it was very, very special.”
Healy is hoping for an extended run of games with Munster over the coming weeks, beginning with Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash against Connacht in Galway.
While young out-halves Jack Crowley and Jake Flannery are also vying for minutes with Carbery out of action, Healy is the most experienced of Munster’s available options.
“I’m very excited about it,” said Healy. “I think at this stage of my career I have come through the last few years, there have been times when you just need to be patient and hang on and there are times when you get runs of games like this and you just need to grab it by the scruff of the neck and do whatever you can, so that is my plan.
“I have been happy with how I have been going. I’m just looking forward to getting as much game time as possible and just putting my head down.
“I’m still very much at the development stage in my career. I’m still quite young. I know I have a long way to go and that kinda excites me, to be honest, that I still have a lot of growth left.
“I’m working with good coaches at the moment. I’ve got good players around me, particularly senior players who are helping me every day, so I’m just very excited where I think I can go and I think I have all the resources around me to get me there.”
The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud
Gavan Casey and Murray Kinsella take a break from eating and drinking to chat about some interesting contract news in Irish rugby.
