There was a lot of speculation last year over where Luke Fitzgerald would be playing his club rugby after negotiations with the IRFU seemed to have been hitting a dead end. Fitzgerald had only had a few weeks left on his contract with Leinster, and talk was that a move abroad or even to Munster could be very likely.
Fitzgerald told the Irish Examiner yesterday that he felt Rob Penney's vision for Munster's future really impressed him and that a move their would be his best possible opportunity for him to play regularly.
“I was very impressed by Rob Penney, I thought he was a really nice guy and it seemed like he had a bit of a vision for going forward."
The 26-year-old revealed that had it not been for an intervention and solid advice from teammate and Ireland legend Brian O'Driscoll he could well be playing for Munster this year.
“I talked to Brian on my Dad’s recommendation. Brian is a smart guy, who has managed himself really well. His advice was really surprising. He was really unbiased on why I should stay. He was really honest.
“For a guy who has been at the club a really long time, it would be easy to get caught up in the Blue Army thing but he didn’t. I was very impressed with that.”
Luckily for Leinster, O'Driscoll's wise words helped with Fitzgerald penning a new two-year deal with until 2015.
