Clohessy all fired up to go out in a blaze of Munster glory

Far from ending his career prematurely, or even leaving his career hinging on the outcome of this weekend's European Cup semi-final as he watched from the stands, the second degree burns Peter Clohessy sustained in a garden accident a fortnight ago will not even sideline him from tomorrow's semi-final against Castres.

The Claw is set to play against his current French bête noir, after coming through another contact session in Montpellier yesterday, albeit with a protective, lycra-based covering on his right arm, something like Scott Quinnell wears. Perhaps it protects from bites as well.

His recovery provides the latest twist to the saga that has been Clohessy's rugby career. It had looked to all of Limerick and anybody else who cared that he would be denied a Munster swan song before his retirement when word initially spread like, well, bushfire, of his domestic accident as he was burning rubbish at the end of his rear garden just over a fortnight ago.

"I had poured some petrol onto it, but when I lit some paper there was some more petrol between me and the fire, and all of a sudden the flames just shot up at me.

"I kept my eyes closed but I remember being able to smell my hair burn as I rolled around on the ground to put out the flames. Everybody else was inside in the house and nobody else realised what had happened until it was all over."

Grateful that for once his constant sidekick and chip off the old block, Luke, was not by his side, Clohessy was taken to Limerick Regional Hospital. But, crucially, he also picked up the Munster team doctor, Mick Griffin, en route and Clohessy admits he wouldn't have had a chance of playing again this season but for Griffin's quick thinking.

"He phoned a skin surgeon in the Galway Regional Hospital, a Dr Mick McGann, and he insisted that the best thing to do was to bathe the arm in cold water for an hour-and-a- half. Only for his advice I wouldn't have been togging out today (yesterday) here in France."

Even so, Clohessy still reckoned that his retirement had been brought forward by a month or two.

"I thought that was it, to be honest. I didn't think I'd be able to play again. I thought my career was finished."

In one of the episode's lighter moments, when his wife, Anna, came in to bring him from the Limerick hospital to its Galway counterpart the next day, she commented: "I always knew you'd go out in a blaze of glory but I didn't think you'd literally do it."

Encouragingly for Munster, not only did Clohessy train again yesterday but so too did Paul O'Connell, and with Declan Kidney reckoning that the hot weather will more than likely make this semi-final a 22-man game, this would tend to suggest that both men will start. So too, presumably, will Rob Henderson, whatever about finishing it.

Desire counts for a lot, and as much as any international, you sense that this was always a game that Clohessy, especially, did not want to miss.

"I'm looking forward to retiring and spending more time with my family and my business. It doesn't get any easier. But before I go I want one more chance at reaching a European Cup final with Munster and winning it."

That would be the perfect finale.

MUNSTER (probable): D Crotty; J Kelly, R Henderson, J Holland, A Horgan; R O'Gara, P Stringer; P Clohessy, F Sheahan, J Hayes, M Galwey (capt), P O'Connell, A Quinlan, A Foley, D Wallace. Replacements: M Horan, J Fogarty, M O'Driscoll, D O'Callaghan, M Prendergast, M Mullins, J Staunton.