Calf injury sends Jerry Flannery packing: Ireland - 2011 Rugby World Cup
Ireland’s national Rugby Union team has been dealt a major blow for their ongoing 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC) campaign as their star international hooker, Jerry Flannery, has been ruled out from future games of the tournament. The Irish Rugby Union has confirmed
Flannery’s omission from Ireland’s RWC squad in a statement released on their website on Wednesday, September 14.
Earlier on Tuesday, September 13, Flannery tore his left calf during Ireland’s training camp, which was held in the Auckland. Later, an MRI was performed on Flannery, which revealed the severity of the injury.
The training camp was held in connection with Ireland’s upcoming 2011 RWC encounter against the RWC favourites and 2011 Tri Nations’ winners, Wallabies. Ireland will take on the Wallabies on Saturday, September 17 at Eden Park, Auckland.
According to the statement released on the Irish Rugby Union’s website, Flannery’s injury will require a period of six to eight weeks for recovery. The governing body of rugby in Ireland has named Munster's Damien Varley as a replacement for Flannery in
the Irish RWC squad. It was announced that Varley will join the rest of the squad on September 17.
Ireland Team Manager, Paul McNaughton, has expressed his disappointment on the loss of Flannery. He added that Flannery himself is very unhappy with the injury. He added, “Sean Cronin will step into the replacements seamlessly this weekend which shows the
importance of having experience and depth in the squad.”
The 32-year-old Flannery made his professional Rugby Union debut for Connacht Rugby in 2001. At the start of the 2003/04 season, he joined Munster where he still plays his club rugby. He so far has played approximately 93 games for Connacht in both domestic
and European competitions and has scored 40 points for them.
Flannery made his international debut for Ireland in 2005 and so far has played 41 international games for his country. The ongoing RWC tournament was his second consecutive RWC tournament.
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