JAMES HART HAS been impressed by the work ethic he has found among his new team-mates since beginning pre-season training with Munster a fortnight ago.
Hart has been preparing for the 2017-18 season at Munster’s High Performance Centre at the University of Limerick, having joined the province after six years in France.
The Dublin-born scrum-half made over 60 appearances during five seasons with Grenoble, before moving to Racing 92 last season where he linked up with former Munster out-half Ronan O’Gara, Racing’s current assistant coach.
Hart was part of the Racing squad that was beaten twice by Munster in the pool stages of the European Champions Cup last season.
As pre-season preparations continue, Hart told Munster’s official website: “One thing that stands out and that I’ve seen now over the last two weeks is the effort that the lads put in. You can really see that pays dividends in the games.
“They’re all good players and what’s great is that even in the last two weeks I’ve already learned a huge amount. Obviously I’m going to try and bring my own game to that, just learn all the time and try and take a step back and really look to take it in. It’s great to be here. The structures that are in place are fantastic.”
Prior to having his transfer to Munster confirmed last January, Hart turned to O’Gara for advice: “He was one of the first people I talked to when Munster became a reality; that I could be going home to Munster. Obviously being a through-and-through Munster man, he played all his career here, he just had good things to say.
“He was very helpful in the process. I get on very well with him, he’s a good man and he was a great help to me when I was with Racing. I hope that he keeps going as a coach and that some day we see him back here or maybe with the Irish set-up.”
