LIFE MOVES QUICKLY at Munster. After an opening round loss to Glasgow, there was a lingering sense that despite some encouraging signs, the defeat was one that got away from an injury-hit province staring into a testing start to the new season.
And yet, the week ended with Clayton McMillan doing his best to play down the excitement around the healthy crop of young players who stepped up to help deliver an impressive 26-22 bonus-point win against the Bulls.
Following the Glasgow defeat, McMillan told reporters that “when it rains, it pours”, but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky as he made his way home from Thomond Park late on Saturday.
Charlie O’Shea was the outstanding player on the night, scoring two tries, kicking three conversions and adding an excellent try-assist, all while playing the game with tempo and creativity. In the final 10 minutes, JJ Hanrahan – who had a strong outing against Glasgow Warriors last weekend – came on and helped steer Munster home with a succession of smart tactical kicks.
For a province short on depth at out-half given the injuries to Jack Crowley and Tom Wood, the opening two fixtures have eased concerns.
“I think we’ve had open and honest conversations with both JJ and Charlie,” McMillan said.
JJ Hanrahan celebrates with Charlie O’Shea at the final whistle. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“At the moment they’re our only two 10s. JJ, I thought had a great game last week, probably deserved to play again but until we get a couple of bodies back and we will in the coming weeks, we hope that we’ve just got to get that balance right, sharing the load, not putting heavy weight or too much load on anyone’s shoulders.
“So, at the moment they’ve got to share responsibility because we think that’s what’s required to continue to put two blokes out on the field that can play in the 10 jersey.”
One reporter likened O’Shea’s style of play to that of New Zealand’s Damian McKenzie.
“I think their ambition to just have a bit of a crack is probably the greatest similarity,” McMillan said.
“Yeah, I’ll leave it at that. I don’t want to put too much pressure on the young fella, he had a great night tonight, he’s a good talent, but then we’ve got Tom Wood who’s sitting in the background.
Munster’s Charlie O’Shea after the game. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“So, those sorts of young guys we’ve got coming through the system that when they get their opportunity we’ll show that they’re equally capable as well, but right now that’s Charlie’s time and JJ’s time and they’re doing a good job of steering the team around the park.”
Yet you don’t beat the Bulls without a strong showing from your pack, and Munster’s forwards played a huge role in what was an impressive team effort. Seán Edogbo and Brian Gleeson carried hard, while the front row helped deliver a strong showing at scrum time.
Former Leinster and Connacht prop Jack Aungier, earning his first Munster cap, looked a clever addition on his Thomond Park debut.
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“To be fair, I thought he was outstanding, but that’s coming from a bloke who used to wear small numbers, not large numbers, so Charlie will probably get all the plaudits, but I thought that Jack Aungier was instrumental in the performance.
Munster's debutant Jack Aungier with his family. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“When you play teams like the Bulls, as we found out last year and other teams continue to find out, is that if you don’t have a scrum, it’s very hard to launch and set a platform in which to play the rugby that you want to play. So, the last two weeks have been pleasing insofar as our set-piece has performed really well.
“We’ve still got lots of growth, but the signings of the likes of Jack and Kieran (Brookes) allow us to bring somebody like Ronan (Foxe) through at a pace that is appropriate for his age and stage in his career.”
The build-up to the game was overshadowed by the news of Flanagan’s departure.
“I just think about the person who’s got a mother and a father and a wife and children and the decision has been made,” McMillan said.
Munster's Shane Daly and Sebastian de Klerk of Vodacom Bulls. Bryan Keane
Bryan Keane
“We wish him all the best in whatever comes next in his journey, but as is always the case when people come and go, our job, my job and the players’ job is to focus on how we prepared during the week, and the performance that we put on the weekend and that didn’t change this week and it won’t change next week.”
The shortest answer of the evening came when McMillan was asked if Flanagan’s exit will have any bearing on his own commitment to Munster: “No.”
The Munster boss was then asked if he needs to be conscious of the news and impending recruitment process becoming something that could distract or unsettle the squad on the back of the tumultuous end of the 2025/26 season.
“(That’s) Not hard at all. If we compare it to last year, this is a walk in the park. I’m not trying to say that the decision isn’t a big one that Ian’s made, but again, he’s made that decision and we respect it and we wish him and his family all the best.
“We’re not a good enough team at the moment to distract ourselves with anything other than performing, putting our best foot forward at training and hopefully delivering our best on weekends.”
On an attritional night in Limerick, Munster lost Fineen Wycherly ahead of kick-off, while Michael Milne was forced off in the opening minutes, Diarmuid Kilgallen departed after scoring his first-half try and John Hodnett failed a HIA.
Wycherly aggravated a shoulder injury from last weekend, Milne was in a moon boot awaiting assessment and Kilgallen was removed as a precaution with a tight hamstring.
In better news, Diarmuid Barron, Max Klein, Ruadhán Quinn, Alex Nankivell and Ireland international Tadhg Beirne are among those expected to be available for Saturday’s trip to face Ulster in Belfast.
They’ll make that journey on the back of a feel-good win which even at this early juncture, feels like it could ignite Munster’s season.
“Hard to say. It’s early days and I think all teams are still finding their feet and still wanting to welcome back a number of bodies. There’s been internationals, there’s been, just talking to their coach, the fact that they had to play the All Blacks is a disruption to their pre-season.
“There’s a lot of moving parts in the early part of the season and I think it’s important to just accumulate points where you can and just stay in the race and know that it’s going to be probably congested for 10/12 weeks, and then a top eight will sort of start to emerge and hopefully that’s where we are.”
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Timely Munster performance helps keep focus on the pitch
LIFE MOVES QUICKLY at Munster. After an opening round loss to Glasgow, there was a lingering sense that despite some encouraging signs, the defeat was one that got away from an injury-hit province staring into a testing start to the new season.
That was followed by another seismic week off the pitch, with the province confirming Ian Flanagan will depart his role as Munster chief executive at the end of the month. Significant changes as we await the results of an independent review into the governance at the organisation.
And yet, the week ended with Clayton McMillan doing his best to play down the excitement around the healthy crop of young players who stepped up to help deliver an impressive 26-22 bonus-point win against the Bulls.
Following the Glasgow defeat, McMillan told reporters that “when it rains, it pours”, but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky as he made his way home from Thomond Park late on Saturday.
Charlie O’Shea was the outstanding player on the night, scoring two tries, kicking three conversions and adding an excellent try-assist, all while playing the game with tempo and creativity. In the final 10 minutes, JJ Hanrahan – who had a strong outing against Glasgow Warriors last weekend – came on and helped steer Munster home with a succession of smart tactical kicks.
For a province short on depth at out-half given the injuries to Jack Crowley and Tom Wood, the opening two fixtures have eased concerns.
“I think we’ve had open and honest conversations with both JJ and Charlie,” McMillan said.
“At the moment they’re our only two 10s. JJ, I thought had a great game last week, probably deserved to play again but until we get a couple of bodies back and we will in the coming weeks, we hope that we’ve just got to get that balance right, sharing the load, not putting heavy weight or too much load on anyone’s shoulders.
“So, at the moment they’ve got to share responsibility because we think that’s what’s required to continue to put two blokes out on the field that can play in the 10 jersey.”
One reporter likened O’Shea’s style of play to that of New Zealand’s Damian McKenzie.
“I think their ambition to just have a bit of a crack is probably the greatest similarity,” McMillan said.
“Yeah, I’ll leave it at that. I don’t want to put too much pressure on the young fella, he had a great night tonight, he’s a good talent, but then we’ve got Tom Wood who’s sitting in the background.
“So, those sorts of young guys we’ve got coming through the system that when they get their opportunity we’ll show that they’re equally capable as well, but right now that’s Charlie’s time and JJ’s time and they’re doing a good job of steering the team around the park.”
Yet you don’t beat the Bulls without a strong showing from your pack, and Munster’s forwards played a huge role in what was an impressive team effort. Seán Edogbo and Brian Gleeson carried hard, while the front row helped deliver a strong showing at scrum time.
Former Leinster and Connacht prop Jack Aungier, earning his first Munster cap, looked a clever addition on his Thomond Park debut.
“To be fair, I thought he was outstanding, but that’s coming from a bloke who used to wear small numbers, not large numbers, so Charlie will probably get all the plaudits, but I thought that Jack Aungier was instrumental in the performance.
“When you play teams like the Bulls, as we found out last year and other teams continue to find out, is that if you don’t have a scrum, it’s very hard to launch and set a platform in which to play the rugby that you want to play. So, the last two weeks have been pleasing insofar as our set-piece has performed really well.
“We’ve still got lots of growth, but the signings of the likes of Jack and Kieran (Brookes) allow us to bring somebody like Ronan (Foxe) through at a pace that is appropriate for his age and stage in his career.”
The build-up to the game was overshadowed by the news of Flanagan’s departure.
“I just think about the person who’s got a mother and a father and a wife and children and the decision has been made,” McMillan said.
“We wish him all the best in whatever comes next in his journey, but as is always the case when people come and go, our job, my job and the players’ job is to focus on how we prepared during the week, and the performance that we put on the weekend and that didn’t change this week and it won’t change next week.”
The shortest answer of the evening came when McMillan was asked if Flanagan’s exit will have any bearing on his own commitment to Munster: “No.”
The Munster boss was then asked if he needs to be conscious of the news and impending recruitment process becoming something that could distract or unsettle the squad on the back of the tumultuous end of the 2025/26 season.
“(That’s) Not hard at all. If we compare it to last year, this is a walk in the park. I’m not trying to say that the decision isn’t a big one that Ian’s made, but again, he’s made that decision and we respect it and we wish him and his family all the best.
On an attritional night in Limerick, Munster lost Fineen Wycherly ahead of kick-off, while Michael Milne was forced off in the opening minutes, Diarmuid Kilgallen departed after scoring his first-half try and John Hodnett failed a HIA.
Wycherly aggravated a shoulder injury from last weekend, Milne was in a moon boot awaiting assessment and Kilgallen was removed as a precaution with a tight hamstring.
In better news, Diarmuid Barron, Max Klein, Ruadhán Quinn, Alex Nankivell and Ireland international Tadhg Beirne are among those expected to be available for Saturday’s trip to face Ulster in Belfast.
They’ll make that journey on the back of a feel-good win which even at this early juncture, feels like it could ignite Munster’s season.
“Hard to say. It’s early days and I think all teams are still finding their feet and still wanting to welcome back a number of bodies. There’s been internationals, there’s been, just talking to their coach, the fact that they had to play the All Blacks is a disruption to their pre-season.
“There’s a lot of moving parts in the early part of the season and I think it’s important to just accumulate points where you can and just stay in the race and know that it’s going to be probably congested for 10/12 weeks, and then a top eight will sort of start to emerge and hopefully that’s where we are.”
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Clayton McMillan Munster Rugby Up and Running