ANTHONY FOLEY SAYS securing Champions Cup qualification for next season is priority number one for Munster as the Guinness Pro12 run-in picks up pace.
Munster sit fourth in the league ahead of Saturday’s visit to Leinster, but Foley appreciates that with four regular season games remaining, nothing has been decided.
Sixth-placed Glasgow Warriors are just a single point behind Munster and also have a game in hand, as well as three fixtures against Italian opposition to come. Ulster in fifth are also just a point behind on the table and will back themselves to secure a play-off slot.
Finishing seventh in the Pro12, a spot currently occupied by Edinburgh, would see Munster miss out on Champions Cup rugby next season unless Connacht were to win the Challenge Cup.
It all means that Munster are feeling the pressure to deliver results over the coming weeks. They were boosted by a facile 47-0 win over Zebre last weekend, but Saturday’s inter-provincial meeting with Leo Cullen’s Leinster is huge.
Not in recent times,” said Foley yesterday when asked if there has ever been as much riding on a league game. “I think this is something that we are into the run-in in the league.
“Everyone is still vying for position, and trying to make sure they secure Europe first and foremost. I think a lot of teams have that in the front of their minds. It’s not something that is that far away.
“And then you want to get top four, then most teams will want to get one of the home semis because traditionally nobody loses them. And that, I’d imagine, is what most coaches are going through. It’s about making sure you’re qualified for Europe first and then from there on.
“But in order to do that you have got to win games and you have got to get points out of games. It’s important that we go up to the Aviva, which is ultimately our national stadium – they have moved the game from their home venue to there. It’s important that we go up there, and make sure we show our wares above in our own national stadium.”
Foley admitted that the fact Munster do not have a European quarter-final to look forward to early next month makes the Leinster clash – for which a crowd in excess of 40,000 is expected – feel all the more vital.
The performance of out-half Johnny Holland last weekend against Zebre on what was just his second senior start for Munster was one of the most encouraging aspects of a morale-boosting evening.
The 24-year-old’s first Munster start came in 2014, but a severe hamstring injury meant he was forced to bide his time until the past month, two replacements appearances leading into last weekend.
I thought he was very composed,” said Foley of Holland’s performance. “He brought a lot of control to the game. I thought his kicking off the tee was excellent and I thought he brought a smile to a lot of people out there. At some stages, he had a smile on his face out there and that’s good to see.
“He would have had that ‘Paul O’Connell injury’ is probably the best way to describe it. He ripped all three [hamstring] tendons off the bone against Nottingham in Temple Hill in a B&I Cup game and it took him over 12 months to get back from that.
“I think from the whole rugby, S&C, physio department, everyone had seen the hard work he’d put in over the period of that 12 months and for him to get out and start the game, everyone was proud of him.”
Having witnessed first-hand the impact Rory Scannell has made for Munster in midfield this season, Foley is hopeful that Holland can now kick on and fulfil his potential with Munster after the lengthy injury-enforced absence.
Ian Keatley will be expecting to return at 10 this weekend, but Holland has shown he is a viable contender for the out-half position.
“I hope so,” said Foley. “I think there’s fellas like Rory who have beaten that path well. It’s important that we have that competition, it’s important that we get players through our academy, which is getting a lot of [negative] press at the moment.
“It’s important that these fellas come through, because ultimately they live in and love the area. They love the jersey, they’re brought up watching it and dreaming about playing for Munster. For them to get an opportunity just lifts everyone else around them.”
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