AS YOU’D EXPECT, the mood is good at Munster HQ this week. The province are four from four in the URC and the most recent of those victories came against a stacked Leinster side in Croke Park.
All this while the squad are still getting to know their new head coach, Clayton McMillan. Internally, the freshness adds to a sense the best is yet to come, but the high of last weekend has also been used to ram home the point Munster need to back it up against Connacht in Thomond Park on Saturday. Come through that one, and they’ll really feel good about themselves heading into the international break.
Key players are in form. Jack Crowley and Tadhg Beirne were both outstanding against Leinster. Those two won’t be available this weekend as they prepare to take on the All Blacks in Chicago. Earlier this week Tom Farrell got the call to join Farrell’s group on the plane. Edwin Edogbo and Brian Gleeson were both rising to the occasion in Croke Park before injury cut short their evenings.
Munster are down numbers for the Connacht game but a squad who feel their depth is improving will see a challenge there to be embraced. Attack coach Mike Prendergast is certainly enjoying how the season is playing out so far. Some of their wins have been less convincing than others, hanging in and hanging on against both Edinburgh and Cardiff, but against Leinster it all came together.
Their defensive work was exceptional, and despite having just 35% possession, Munster hit their hosts for four tries. The variety through which they scored those tries proved a source of great satisfaction. Gleeson’s close-range finish was brute force. Farrell’s cleverly-concocted effort came from a beautiful Jack Crowley chip after a solid Munster lineout. Ethan Coughlan’s intercept try was opportunistic. To go and secure the bonus-point score required a confident determination.
Look at it from Prendergast’s perspective and the pieces appear to be falling into place.
Last season the lineout was a major issue, but with Alex Codling now on board full-time as lineout coach, that setpiece should provide a more solid base from which to build an attack. The form of Crowley and scrum-half Craig Casey, currently injured, is another obvious positive. The signing of Dan Kelly has added quality and competition to the depth at centre. Edogbo and Gleeson have brought more power to the pack. That players like Jean Kleyn, Alex Nankivell and Gavin Coombes can be held back on the bench against Leinster leaves Munster better equipped to be an 80-minute team – and that’s with Casey, Tom Ahern, Mike Haley, John Hodnett, Diarmuid Kilgallen and Alex Kendellen all sidelined.
Mix it all together and there’s a few nice platforms from which Prendergast can work.
“Yeah, and I’ll be honest, we haven’t probably fired on all cylinders in terms of our attack or approach,” he says.
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Munster attack coach Mike Prendergast. Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO
Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO / INPHO
“Last day against Leinster was a small bit different in terms of the plan, when to pull the trigger, because there’s times there you feel like you can pull the trigger against any team, but you can shoot yourself in the foot at times there as well with a very good defensive side like Leinster.
“But I felt through our accuracy, I thought we were ferocious in our work rate, in our contacts… If you look at it actually, there wasn’t loads of attack sequences, but the few we had, we were quite smart in how we played and whether that was through short kicking or through the hands and through our framework or whatever.
“But it’s like anything and the game probably hasn’t changed since day dot, if you don’t get it right up front it’s a harder game to play, especially from an attack point of view. And I thought our lineout on the weekend was exceptional. The try Tom Farrell got, to win the ball at the back there, the accuracy in that, the accuracy in Jack’s kick, it is pleasing to see when it comes off.”
Prendergast explains how bringing the likes of Kelly, Gleeson and Edogbo into the starting team helps broaden the options when it comes to plotting the attack.
“The likes of Dan Kelly, who’s been really, really good since he’s come in, he was a player that we would have scouted and his profile was something that suited us. There’s going to be days that we need to carry, there’s going to be days we need to play ball and he gives you that as well.
“Then young boys like Edwin and Brian who are physically right up there. And a lot of times the game comes down to the physical aspects of it and they both have it in abundance, they’re both really exciting players going forward as well.
“So there’s a nice mix because sometimes, you got to play the game in different ways as well. You hear about Plan A and Plan B. I’m not a big fan of hearing Plan A and Plan B, but there are different ways you need to play the game, who you’re playing against, conditions you’re playing in, and it’s about being set up as much as you can to play those ways.”
It helps when your out-half is purring. Saturday was one of Crowley’s best displays in the red jersey as the Corkman oozed confidence, mixing clever moments of skill with a dogged determination in defence. Tellingly, not everything he tried came off but it didn’t stop Crowley playing with his head up. Prendergast is happy to see the 25-year-old trust his gut on the pitch, backing him to step outside the gameplan when he feels it.
“His instinct and his natural ability is really high and as an attack coach, I’d never want to take that away from certain players,” Prendergast says.
Jack Crowley was outstanding against Leinster. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“You have a framework and a system and you want guys to (play to that), but sometimes there’s players within a system where if it’s a strength and it will help the system, you will leave that (instinct) be part of the strength as well.
“At the weekend, yeah, not everything (worked for him), and against a defence like that, that’s going to happen. You’re going to be under pressure, there’s going to be one or two things that mightn’t come off exactly, but I thought on Saturday he didn’t come away from that.
“He got blocked down at one stage and we spoke about just a little adjustment to it, and he executed a few more after that. The word for me for Jack at the weekend was, absolutely he was brave etc, but it was his execution. He managed to find a nice bit of grass in behind, which suited what we wanted to do. And then from a defensive point of view, as we all know, he’s incredibly brave but he’s technically very good defensively as well.
“He looked on his game, absolutely.”
You could stretch that statement out to include the other 22 men wearing Munster crests on their chest. Now it’s about building on the marker that has been set. The selection will get a shake up this weekend but the expectation remains the same.
“We’ve got to go again this weekend,” Prendergast adds.
“The depth is huge. In the game we play today, it’s an attritional game, you’re going to need a squad. Even already, through whatever reasons, through internationals, through injuries, we’ve already used 36 players and there’ll be a few more no doubt this week.
“It’s very early days, as we know, but momentum obviously gives you a bit of confidence and, yeah, there’s a good buzz around the place.
“We really want to back it up because that’s what people from the outside want, but more importantly, that’s what we want.”
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Munster putting tools in place to add more layers to their attack
AS YOU’D EXPECT, the mood is good at Munster HQ this week. The province are four from four in the URC and the most recent of those victories came against a stacked Leinster side in Croke Park.
All this while the squad are still getting to know their new head coach, Clayton McMillan. Internally, the freshness adds to a sense the best is yet to come, but the high of last weekend has also been used to ram home the point Munster need to back it up against Connacht in Thomond Park on Saturday. Come through that one, and they’ll really feel good about themselves heading into the international break.
Key players are in form. Jack Crowley and Tadhg Beirne were both outstanding against Leinster. Those two won’t be available this weekend as they prepare to take on the All Blacks in Chicago. Earlier this week Tom Farrell got the call to join Farrell’s group on the plane. Edwin Edogbo and Brian Gleeson were both rising to the occasion in Croke Park before injury cut short their evenings.
Munster are down numbers for the Connacht game but a squad who feel their depth is improving will see a challenge there to be embraced. Attack coach Mike Prendergast is certainly enjoying how the season is playing out so far. Some of their wins have been less convincing than others, hanging in and hanging on against both Edinburgh and Cardiff, but against Leinster it all came together.
Their defensive work was exceptional, and despite having just 35% possession, Munster hit their hosts for four tries. The variety through which they scored those tries proved a source of great satisfaction. Gleeson’s close-range finish was brute force. Farrell’s cleverly-concocted effort came from a beautiful Jack Crowley chip after a solid Munster lineout. Ethan Coughlan’s intercept try was opportunistic. To go and secure the bonus-point score required a confident determination.
Look at it from Prendergast’s perspective and the pieces appear to be falling into place.
Last season the lineout was a major issue, but with Alex Codling now on board full-time as lineout coach, that setpiece should provide a more solid base from which to build an attack. The form of Crowley and scrum-half Craig Casey, currently injured, is another obvious positive. The signing of Dan Kelly has added quality and competition to the depth at centre. Edogbo and Gleeson have brought more power to the pack. That players like Jean Kleyn, Alex Nankivell and Gavin Coombes can be held back on the bench against Leinster leaves Munster better equipped to be an 80-minute team – and that’s with Casey, Tom Ahern, Mike Haley, John Hodnett, Diarmuid Kilgallen and Alex Kendellen all sidelined.
Mix it all together and there’s a few nice platforms from which Prendergast can work.
“Yeah, and I’ll be honest, we haven’t probably fired on all cylinders in terms of our attack or approach,” he says.
“Last day against Leinster was a small bit different in terms of the plan, when to pull the trigger, because there’s times there you feel like you can pull the trigger against any team, but you can shoot yourself in the foot at times there as well with a very good defensive side like Leinster.
“But I felt through our accuracy, I thought we were ferocious in our work rate, in our contacts… If you look at it actually, there wasn’t loads of attack sequences, but the few we had, we were quite smart in how we played and whether that was through short kicking or through the hands and through our framework or whatever.
“But it’s like anything and the game probably hasn’t changed since day dot, if you don’t get it right up front it’s a harder game to play, especially from an attack point of view. And I thought our lineout on the weekend was exceptional. The try Tom Farrell got, to win the ball at the back there, the accuracy in that, the accuracy in Jack’s kick, it is pleasing to see when it comes off.”
Prendergast explains how bringing the likes of Kelly, Gleeson and Edogbo into the starting team helps broaden the options when it comes to plotting the attack.
“The likes of Dan Kelly, who’s been really, really good since he’s come in, he was a player that we would have scouted and his profile was something that suited us. There’s going to be days that we need to carry, there’s going to be days we need to play ball and he gives you that as well.
“Then young boys like Edwin and Brian who are physically right up there. And a lot of times the game comes down to the physical aspects of it and they both have it in abundance, they’re both really exciting players going forward as well.
“So there’s a nice mix because sometimes, you got to play the game in different ways as well. You hear about Plan A and Plan B. I’m not a big fan of hearing Plan A and Plan B, but there are different ways you need to play the game, who you’re playing against, conditions you’re playing in, and it’s about being set up as much as you can to play those ways.”
It helps when your out-half is purring. Saturday was one of Crowley’s best displays in the red jersey as the Corkman oozed confidence, mixing clever moments of skill with a dogged determination in defence. Tellingly, not everything he tried came off but it didn’t stop Crowley playing with his head up. Prendergast is happy to see the 25-year-old trust his gut on the pitch, backing him to step outside the gameplan when he feels it.
“His instinct and his natural ability is really high and as an attack coach, I’d never want to take that away from certain players,” Prendergast says.
“You have a framework and a system and you want guys to (play to that), but sometimes there’s players within a system where if it’s a strength and it will help the system, you will leave that (instinct) be part of the strength as well.
“At the weekend, yeah, not everything (worked for him), and against a defence like that, that’s going to happen. You’re going to be under pressure, there’s going to be one or two things that mightn’t come off exactly, but I thought on Saturday he didn’t come away from that.
“He got blocked down at one stage and we spoke about just a little adjustment to it, and he executed a few more after that. The word for me for Jack at the weekend was, absolutely he was brave etc, but it was his execution. He managed to find a nice bit of grass in behind, which suited what we wanted to do. And then from a defensive point of view, as we all know, he’s incredibly brave but he’s technically very good defensively as well.
“He looked on his game, absolutely.”
You could stretch that statement out to include the other 22 men wearing Munster crests on their chest. Now it’s about building on the marker that has been set. The selection will get a shake up this weekend but the expectation remains the same.
“We’ve got to go again this weekend,” Prendergast adds.
“The depth is huge. In the game we play today, it’s an attritional game, you’re going to need a squad. Even already, through whatever reasons, through internationals, through injuries, we’ve already used 36 players and there’ll be a few more no doubt this week.
“It’s very early days, as we know, but momentum obviously gives you a bit of confidence and, yeah, there’s a good buzz around the place.
“We really want to back it up because that’s what people from the outside want, but more importantly, that’s what we want.”
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Depth jack crowley Mike Prendergast Munster Rugby