MUNSTER’S INJURY PROBLEMS could be down to the increased intensity of their training programme since the new management team took over in the summer, Bernard Jackman believes.
The former Dragons head coach said he faced a similarly lengthy injury list and “everybody broke” when he increased the load and tempo of training at the Welsh side after taking up the job in 2017.
Jackman, speaking on Rugby Weekly Extra, the podcast available to The42 members, said that the benefits to Munster’s new approach outweigh the hindrances and the province, led by head coach Graham Rowntree, should persevere.
Rowntree was short 15 squad players due to injury for the side’s 27-13 defeat to Leinster on Saturday – a game in which Joey Carbury, Liam Coombes, Thomas Ahern and Jack O’Sullivan appeared to pick up knocks.
“I think the spike in injuries that Munster have, that’s down to the fact they have increased training intensity,” Jackman said.
“I know this for a fact because I went through this in the Dragons where . . . everybody broke and we started to train at a much higher speed and there’s always a challenge . . . you question yourself when you see players you need breaking down but I remember speaking to Warren Gatland about it and the Welsh S&C coaches who keep an eye on the regions’ data. We’d gone from being the worst in terms of intensity to the highest, so it’s obviously a huge spike and the trauma that causes on the body can lead to soft tissue injuries in particular.
“What Gatland said was, ‘Look, there’s no relegation, it’s going to give your younger players a chance to play. Jared Rosser, Rio Dyer, Taine Basham all played as teenagers . . . and I think that’s going to happen to Munster as well. We’ve seen glimpses of that. Rio Dyer is now in the Welsh squad . . . Taine Basham has played for Wales.
“As long as they have the ability, if you give them the right stimulus, you’ll better equip them for Champions Cup games and international but you have to take the risk. What Munster need to do, and what Gatland advised me and the Dragons, was just keep going.”
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