NEW CENTRE CHRIS FARRELL has revealed how former Munster scrum-half Mike Prendergast persuaded him to move from Grenoble.
Prendergast was then backs coach at Grenoble — he moved to Oyonnax in the summer — where Farrell had spent three seasons with Bernard Jackman’s side.
Farrell, who made his Ulster debut at 18 before opting to move to Grenoble to get game-time, had made up his mind to stay in France this season but another chat with Prendergast convinced him his future was with Munster.
The 24-year old made his competitive debut in the 34-3 win over Benetton Rugby and Farrell, who is from Fivemiletown in south Tyrone, knows he made the right decision to move to Limerick.
“I had made the decision that I was going staying in France and then I was so unsure and I met Mike one more time and that changed my mind in a way. From then on, I was coming back to Munster. I did speak to him a lot about it and he did reassure me it was a good place.
“I was never going to stay where I was in France. I loved the Top 14, I loved the competition, I loved playing week in, week out playing in front of big crowds and what not and against top players but it was tough decision to start with.
“But as soon as I made it, it was easier throughout the rest of the season especially when I watched Munster and how they got on last year and to watch a team with so much success, that just reassured me that it was the right decision.”
The former Ireland U-20, who hits the scales at 110kg, is set to make a big impact in the Munster midfield this season and while there has been some communication, performing for the Reds is his primary concern at the moment.
“I contacted him and I met him myself and I knew he was watching games and he gave me a bit feedback on games so there was contact. But I have to do it in a Munster jersey before I think of moving anywhere in any direction.
“But my decision was to join Munster because it’s a fantastic club. There’s such a buzz in France about Munster, they always have such high thoughts of Munster as a club.”
He’s not sure what to expect from the Cheetahs at Thomond Park on Saturday but feels there are areas they need to improve on from the bonus point win over the Italians at the weekend.
“We haven’t seen a lot of them. We’ve seen them against Ulster and seen them play in Super Rugby and there’s an unpredictability about them but they also have got such individuals with ability they can score tries from anywhere and their unpredictability can be dangerous. But that could be advantageous to us if we do our things right, if we stick to our structures and are accurate in everything we do. Sometimes we weren’t in the second half last weekend but we can change that and be a little more accurate in certain areas and trying catch them.”
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