THIS SEASON FEELS like it could be a big one for Josh Wycherley. The Munster prop moved up to his first senior contract at the province last season and made significant progress on the pitch, too.
When first-choice loosehead Dave Kilcoyne ended up missing most of the second half of the campaign through injury, it was Wycherley who emerged as the next-in-line, leapfrogging Jeremy Loughman – who ended up on Ireland’s summer tour to New Zealand – in the pecking order.
The 23-year-old clocked up 19 caps for the province last season, including eight starts, and clearly made a big impression, with the Munster coaching staff praising both his workrate and attitude.
While still young, he’s been waiting to push on for some time now. Wycherley – younger brother of Fineen – earned plenty of plaudits when thrown in for a Champions Cup debut against a powerful Clermont pack in December 2020, before a neck injury curtailed his progress.
Last season it felt like he got back on track, although being a young prop still learning the tricks of the trade, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. He endured a testing day in the Champions Cup quarter-final defeat to Toulouse, but Wycherley has shown enough to suggest he has a very promising career ahead of him.
Coming in 2kg lighter than Kilcoyne, Wycherley has scope to add more power to his game but will look to keep the dynamism that allows him get through so much work off the ball.
He can take encouragement from seeing Rowntree step up as head coach, too, knowing he’s highly rated by the man who now occupies the Munster hot seat.
The challenge now is to firmly establish himself as Kilcoyne’s back-up, and if all goes well, maybe even challenge the Ireland international for a starting spot.
And with Rowntree bringing in a new coaching group around him, there’s also the added motivation of having to prove yourself to some new faces in the Munster set-up.
“A fresh season, you want to push on and obviously there is nothing guaranteed so you have to prove yourself again and push yourself into the team,” Wycherley says.
“So it’s exciting, it brings new competition, pushes everybody on from the start and it’s brilliant, I think, for the team.
“I’d have a few long-term goals but in general I like to keep it more short-term, because you can see them happening a bit more often than the long-terms goals, so I like to keep it more short-term if I can. So, I prefer a short-term goal and try and achieve it and move on to the next one.”
It’s been interesting to listen to the early reports of what life at Munster looks like under the new coaching team. Earlier this week, new defence coach Denis Leamy spoke of ‘changing habits’ and adjusting the way Munster train.
“I think we’re probably just training a bit faster, training at a bit of a different tempo than we were,” Wycherley continues.
“I’m not saying whether that was a bad thing or a good thing, but I’m just really enjoying it. I’m enjoying the pace of it and enjoying the way we’re playing at the moment.”
Tomorrow’s opponents, Cardiff, stir up special memories. Wycherley was handed his Munster debut against the Welsh side at Thomond Park back in October 2020.
Your first cap, you won’t forget it. Mine was in the middle of Covid so I don’t think there were any fans there, which I remember was a bit of a disappointment, but running out at Thomond Park, I remember it like it was yesterday, the buzz at getting that call that you are on the bench and you are going to get your first run out.
“Luckily, I got a good stretch of games last season and it’s kind of exciting to push on from there this year and really looking to push on, you know.”
Munster may take some time to find their rhythm this season, with Leamy quick to play down expectations earlier in the week. Supporters always dream big at Munster, but for now, the ambition is to make incremental gains across the opening weeks of the new season.
“We haven’t really spoken about trophies or any of that,” adds Wycherley, who was also selected for the Emerging Ireland tour to South Africa this week.
“I think we’re just going to take it week by week and just try get better every week. That’s kind of our main goal. Just keep pushing on every week to be competitive at the very end of the season and go from there.
“For now it’s just about sticking to the process every week and building on each week. There hasn’t been much talk about the end of the season. It’s about now, really, and pushing on now.”
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