THE SEASON MAY still be in its infancy, yet Munster’s frustratingly inconsistent start out of the blocks sees them bordering precariously on must-win territory when they face Ulster in the first of back-to-back Guinness Pro14 inter-pros this evening [KO 7.35pm, eir Sport/Premier Sports].
Johann van Graan’s side have showed no signs of improvement on the road as two heavy away defeats in the first four rounds has raised serious questions over the southern province’s credentials, and they simply must produce a performance of substance tonight.
They can at least rely on home comforts having comfortably seen off the Cheetahs and Ospreys in Limerick and Cork so far this term, but an inter-pro is an altogether different challenge, as the intensity goes up a notch in round five.
For Ulster, this represents something of a free-hit at Thomond Park, having started the season unbeaten under Dan McFarland, and demonstrated huge spirit and character in grinding out three late wins and snatching a 39-39 draw against the Cheetahs in South Africa last week.
Come Saturday evening, the pressure is all on Munster, and that’s reflected in van Graan’s team selection as he makes eight changes to the side which completely capitulated in Cardiff last weekend, with All Black Alby Mathewson set for his debut for the province.
There is also a boost with the return of fit-again internationals Keith Earls and Niall Scannell, who come back into the starting XV for their first appearances of the campaign, while the likes of Mike Haley, Billy Holland and Tommy O’Donnell are all recalled.
Van Graan insisted Monday’s video review session was not one of his toughest in the gig, and said the squad have extracted the positives from the 37-13 defeat to the Blues and left the performance in the rear-view mirror, but Munster know huge improvements are required.
The worrying malfunction of Munster’s defensive systems was costly in the extreme, as the province slipped off 20 tackles in the second period on their way to conceding four disappointing tries.
While credit must be given to the Blues, Peter O’Mahony is not one to shy away from the truth, as Munster slipped below standards that are acceptable.
“Naturally guys are going to be pissed off come Monday but you do your review and you take it on the chin,” the Munster captain says. “The days of shouting and roaring are gone, you have to be very pragmatic and we have to get a solution.
“You have to get out and train properly and our standards in training were superb the last two days. We didn’t go out and belt each other around or anything. You have to just go out and be accurate. Again, that counts for nothing until you perform on Saturday so that is our next test.”
The Ireland flanker continued: “It’s something you have to have huge pride in and they [Cardiff] walked through our defence twice without being touched.
“Of course you’ve got to hurt from that. Guys know themselves that it needs to be better, there’s no one harder on the players than us ourselves and guys would be beating themselves up during the week but you’ve got to scratch that now and you’ve got to implement your lessons into the following week.
“If you’re feeling sorry for yourself for too long in this game all you’ll get is another beating and another beating after that, and it’s hard to get out of it. So you have to get back on the horse.”
O’Mahony starts his third consecutive Pro14 game tonight having made his seasonal reappearance in the dismissal of Ospreys in Cork a fortnight ago, but the visit of McFarland’s Ulster is an altogether tougher proposition.
It may still be too early for a talk of a renewal around Belfast, but certainly the arrival of McFarland and several new faces has sparked an upturn in fortunes at Kingspan Stadium, with Ulster playing an attractive and exciting brand of rugby.
The northern province are unbeaten in their last nine Pro14 encounters, a run which stretches back to last March when they were beaten by the Blues in Cardiff, and certainly confidence will be high in the away dressing room later.
Having left Thomond Park with a draw in the concluding game of the regular season last term, Ulster will no doubt arrive in Limerick eyeing their first win at the venue since May 2014.
With Will Addison, Marcell Coetzee, Wiehahn Herbst, Rob Herring, Sean Reidy and Henry Speight joining an ever-growing injury list after the two-match trip to South Africa, Ulster’s hand has been reduced considerably, but McFarland hopes others will seize their opportunity.
“It is a challenge, when you have a lot of injuries it kind of manages itself,” the Ulster head coach says.
“The way I look at it is when you get an injury for one person, it’s an opportunity for another. Players when given opportunities, as long as they’ve prepared well, have an uncanny ability to put their hand up and in these times we’ll be looking for guys to put their hands up.
“If they’re able to demonstrate that down in Thomond Park we’ll certainly find something out about them.”
Ulster are at least boosted by the return to fitness of John Cooney after a nasty head gash kept him out of the Cheetahs draw, while Craig Gilroy has been passed fit for the inter-pro showdown after a recent abdominal muscle problem.
The visitors, with the excellent Cooney pulling the strings and youngsters Angus Kernohan and Angus Curtis providing energy in the backline, will look to exploit any vulnerability in the Munster rearguard, but expect a backlash from van Graan’s side.
On paper, Munster have a stronger hand and with Mathewson starting at scrum-half after his work permit was finally processed, you’d expect the hosts to produce a much-improved performance. How they need it.
Munster:
15. Mike Haley
14. Andrew Conway
13. Dan Goggin
12. Rory Scannell
11. Keith Earls
10. Joey Carbery
9. Alby Mathewson
1. Dave Kilcoyne
2. Niall Scannell
3. Stephen Archer
4. Tadhg Beirne
5. Billy Holland
6. Peter O’Mahony (capt)
7. Tommy O’Donnell
8. CJ Stander
Replacements:
16. Kevin O’Byrne
17. James Cronin
18. Ciaran Parker
19. Jean Kleyn
20. Arno Botha
21. Duncan Williams
22. Ian Keatley
23. Sammy Arnold
Ulster:
15. Peter Nelson
14. Craig Gilroy
13. Darren Cave
12. Angus Curtis
11. Angus Kernohan
10. Billy Burns
9. John Cooney
1. Andrew Warwick
2. Adam McBurney
3. Ross Kane
4. Alan O’Connor (capt)
5. Iain Henderson
6. Matthew Rea
7. Nick Timoney
8. Jean Deysel
Replacements:
16. John Andrew
17. Eric O’Sullivan
18. Tom O’Toole
19. Kieran Treadwell
20. Clive Ross
21. Dave Shanahan
22. Michael Lowry
23. James Hume.
Referee: Dan Jones [WRU].
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