EVEN A VERY short visit to Bath was enough to underline once again why Johann van Graan was attracted to the place.
It’s an enchanting city and despite the rain yesterday, Munster fans made the best of it in the build-up to what proved to be a chastening night at The Rec.
The Rec is long overdue for a facelift and is finally due to get it, with planning permission recently granted for a redevelopment that will see the capacity rise from 14,500 to 18,000 and involve the East Stand getting a roof.
But the place crackled on Saturday night, in large part thanks to the impressive travelling Munster support.
“At least we brought the noise,” said one Munster fan at Bristol Airport on the bleary-eyed Sunday morning that followed his side’s 40-14 defeat.
Despite having aged, The Rec is a lovely spot right in the heart of the city on the banks of the River Avon. Bath also have a stunning training base at the splendid Farleigh House, which is owned by Bruce Craig, the owner of the rugby club.
Van Graan oversees a squad of enviable depth, one that he has been integral in building. Being able to call on players of the quality of Thomas du Toit, Sam Underhill, and Santi Carreras from the bench against Munster said plenty.
And the Bath boss got the kind of statement European performance that has evaded the club for a long time. They won the Heineken Cup back in 1998, but have barely been genuine players in this competition since.
Having won the Premiership last season and added the Challenge Cup and Premiership Rugby Cup titles, this dismantling of Munster was Bath drawing a line in the sand and signalling to the likes of Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Leinster that they mean business.
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Ted Hill scores Bath's final try against Munster. Dan Clohessy / INPHO
Dan Clohessy / INPHO / INPHO
In contrast, it was an eye-opening evening for Munster boss Clayton McMillan.
“I’m still getting my head around the URC and European Cup, but you’d have to say that they were Premiership winners last year and they’ve hit the ground running this year,” said McMillan.
“They’ve got an impressive squad, a deep squad and tough to beat at home. They’ll definitely be up there.”
There can’t have been many Munster fans who flew home yesterday who have a strong belief that their team will be up there when it comes to fighting for the Champions Cup title in May.
Their lineout failed early on – a sight that has become too familiar in recent years – while Bath made gains at the scrum and controlled the game with their smart kicking before putting on a defensive masterclass in the second half. Munster had some promising moments, but the contest was over before McMillan’s men even got going.
The Kiwi head coach has enjoyed a good start to life with Munster, winning his first five URC games, although he stressed that the province knew they weren’t playing particularly well aside from their big victory in Croke Park against Leinster.
Now, he’s facing the prospect of trying to lift his players after back-to-back defeats against a Stormers side who are in superb form and now Bath, another team who have a mean streak.
But McMillan knew that this Munster job was a project when he signed a three-year deal, and he insisted on Saturday that his belief in the squad hasn’t been dented.
“My confidence in our side hasn’t wavered one bit,” said McMillan in Bath.
“We’ve lost two games. We had about 14 minutes of poor rugby last week [against the Stormers] and paid a heavy price. This week we were on the road, and we’ve played against a quality side and again paid the price for our inaccuracies.
Munster head coach Clayton McMillan. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“But I’ve seen it in this team, I saw it tonight, I’ve seen it last week and I’ve seen it in the other six games that we’ve played beforehand, that this is a team that don’t enjoy losing and they’ve got an incredible care for the team and the people that we represent and they’re fighters and we’ll bounce back, no doubt about it.”
McMillan wasn’t looking for excuses, brushing off the suggestion that the late losses of starting forwards Jean Kleyn and Michael Milne, on top of Jack Crowley having been ruled out through injury, played into Munster’s damaging start in Bath.
Kleyn had to withdraw on Friday for personal reasons, while Milne pulled up during Munster’s warm-up due to a “ding on the knee,” with McMillan praising what he viewed as a brave decision by the loosehead prop.
Munster licked their wounds on the way home from Bath, but they’ll be bringing fresh energy today as their preparations for Saturday’s big home Champions Cup clash with Gloucester at Páirc Uí Chaoimh get rolling.
This will be Munster’s first-ever competitive game at the famous Cork venue and it’s the ideal occasion for them to bounce back from the disappointment in Bath.
“It’s a huge week for Munster Rugby, getting to play in Páirc Uí Chaoimh,” said captain Tadhg Beirne.
“We’re incredibly excited about that. We’re one loss into European, so it’s an even bigger game now to make sure we get back on the horse here and put ourselves in a good position for the rest of the competition.”
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'My confidence hasn't wavered one bit' - McMillan backs Munster to rebound
EVEN A VERY short visit to Bath was enough to underline once again why Johann van Graan was attracted to the place.
It’s an enchanting city and despite the rain yesterday, Munster fans made the best of it in the build-up to what proved to be a chastening night at The Rec.
The Rec is long overdue for a facelift and is finally due to get it, with planning permission recently granted for a redevelopment that will see the capacity rise from 14,500 to 18,000 and involve the East Stand getting a roof.
But the place crackled on Saturday night, in large part thanks to the impressive travelling Munster support.
“At least we brought the noise,” said one Munster fan at Bristol Airport on the bleary-eyed Sunday morning that followed his side’s 40-14 defeat.
Despite having aged, The Rec is a lovely spot right in the heart of the city on the banks of the River Avon. Bath also have a stunning training base at the splendid Farleigh House, which is owned by Bruce Craig, the owner of the rugby club.
Van Graan oversees a squad of enviable depth, one that he has been integral in building. Being able to call on players of the quality of Thomas du Toit, Sam Underhill, and Santi Carreras from the bench against Munster said plenty.
And the Bath boss got the kind of statement European performance that has evaded the club for a long time. They won the Heineken Cup back in 1998, but have barely been genuine players in this competition since.
Having won the Premiership last season and added the Challenge Cup and Premiership Rugby Cup titles, this dismantling of Munster was Bath drawing a line in the sand and signalling to the likes of Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Leinster that they mean business.
In contrast, it was an eye-opening evening for Munster boss Clayton McMillan.
“I’m still getting my head around the URC and European Cup, but you’d have to say that they were Premiership winners last year and they’ve hit the ground running this year,” said McMillan.
“They’ve got an impressive squad, a deep squad and tough to beat at home. They’ll definitely be up there.”
There can’t have been many Munster fans who flew home yesterday who have a strong belief that their team will be up there when it comes to fighting for the Champions Cup title in May.
Their lineout failed early on – a sight that has become too familiar in recent years – while Bath made gains at the scrum and controlled the game with their smart kicking before putting on a defensive masterclass in the second half. Munster had some promising moments, but the contest was over before McMillan’s men even got going.
The Kiwi head coach has enjoyed a good start to life with Munster, winning his first five URC games, although he stressed that the province knew they weren’t playing particularly well aside from their big victory in Croke Park against Leinster.
Now, he’s facing the prospect of trying to lift his players after back-to-back defeats against a Stormers side who are in superb form and now Bath, another team who have a mean streak.
But McMillan knew that this Munster job was a project when he signed a three-year deal, and he insisted on Saturday that his belief in the squad hasn’t been dented.
“My confidence in our side hasn’t wavered one bit,” said McMillan in Bath.
“We’ve lost two games. We had about 14 minutes of poor rugby last week [against the Stormers] and paid a heavy price. This week we were on the road, and we’ve played against a quality side and again paid the price for our inaccuracies.
“But I’ve seen it in this team, I saw it tonight, I’ve seen it last week and I’ve seen it in the other six games that we’ve played beforehand, that this is a team that don’t enjoy losing and they’ve got an incredible care for the team and the people that we represent and they’re fighters and we’ll bounce back, no doubt about it.”
McMillan wasn’t looking for excuses, brushing off the suggestion that the late losses of starting forwards Jean Kleyn and Michael Milne, on top of Jack Crowley having been ruled out through injury, played into Munster’s damaging start in Bath.
Kleyn had to withdraw on Friday for personal reasons, while Milne pulled up during Munster’s warm-up due to a “ding on the knee,” with McMillan praising what he viewed as a brave decision by the loosehead prop.
Munster licked their wounds on the way home from Bath, but they’ll be bringing fresh energy today as their preparations for Saturday’s big home Champions Cup clash with Gloucester at Páirc Uí Chaoimh get rolling.
This will be Munster’s first-ever competitive game at the famous Cork venue and it’s the ideal occasion for them to bounce back from the disappointment in Bath.
“It’s a huge week for Munster Rugby, getting to play in Páirc Uí Chaoimh,” said captain Tadhg Beirne.
“We’re incredibly excited about that. We’re one loss into European, so it’s an even bigger game now to make sure we get back on the horse here and put ourselves in a good position for the rest of the competition.”
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bath Champions Cup Clayton Donk Munster The Boss