MUNSTER BOSS CLAYTON McMillan has firmly stated that he believes his team are continuing to close the gap to Leinster.
While Leinster edged to a 13-8 win over Munster in Thomond Park on Saturday night, it was a tense battle.
McMillan’s men notched a bonus-point win away to Leinster at Croke Park back in October and he believes that his team have reeled in the reigning URC champions, who had dominated this fixture in recent years.
Munster head coach McMillan said he will take massive confidence from Saturday night’s contest with Leinster despite the defeat.
“I don’t take too much notice of what gets written in the media, but I’ve been around long enough to know that not many people really give us a chance, like a little bit of an outsider’s chance because we got the job done against them last time,” said McMillan.
“But when you compare the two teams, there’s no way that we should be right in the contest to the last minute of the game, but we are. They’ll be celebrating the win, but I wonder whether they’ll start to think that people are starting to catch up.
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“We feel like we’re catching up. We lost today, we take it on the chin. We congratulate them for the win, but nothing distracts me from the trajectory we’re on.
“We’re building good confidence in our squad. We’re putting depth in our squad. We’re getting fit and available bodies. To me, that’s all positive.
“I’m super proud of our guys. There’s huge disappointment in the room that they lost but I’m super proud of them. I think our supporters, the 26,000 people that were out there, would be super proud of them too.
“Because people are smart enough to recognise that you’re playing virtually an international side. We’ve got this bloke [Tadhg Beirne] and a couple of others but we’re closing the gap. We feel like we’re closing the gap.”
Munster are away to Ulster in the URC on 2 January before they face into crucial Champions Cup pool games away to Toulon and at home against Castres.
While they haven’t been playing consistently excellent rugby this season, Munster sit second in the URC and should be well in contention for a Champions Cup knock-out place.
Beirne, the Munster captain, has similar feelings to his head coach about the direction in which they are travelling.
He certainly believes that Munster have closed the gap to Leinster.
“You’ve seen it with the way we started the season and where we are in the season,” said Beirne.
“I’d be amazed if most people didn’t watch that game and feel like we didn’t leave it slip by us.
“And I think the same with the Stormers game. We should have won that game. And they’re the things that if we can get right, we’re going to take a massive step forward.
“And I think it’s very exciting. I’m very excited for where the next couple of months are going to go for this club. I think we’re getting better and better as the season’s gone on.
“We’re fixing things up as we go and if we can continue to do that and go on that trajectory, we’re going to have a very exciting end to the season.”
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Munster firmly believe they're 'closing the gap' to Leinster
MUNSTER BOSS CLAYTON McMillan has firmly stated that he believes his team are continuing to close the gap to Leinster.
While Leinster edged to a 13-8 win over Munster in Thomond Park on Saturday night, it was a tense battle.
McMillan’s men notched a bonus-point win away to Leinster at Croke Park back in October and he believes that his team have reeled in the reigning URC champions, who had dominated this fixture in recent years.
Munster head coach McMillan said he will take massive confidence from Saturday night’s contest with Leinster despite the defeat.
“I don’t take too much notice of what gets written in the media, but I’ve been around long enough to know that not many people really give us a chance, like a little bit of an outsider’s chance because we got the job done against them last time,” said McMillan.
“But when you compare the two teams, there’s no way that we should be right in the contest to the last minute of the game, but we are. They’ll be celebrating the win, but I wonder whether they’ll start to think that people are starting to catch up.
“We feel like we’re catching up. We lost today, we take it on the chin. We congratulate them for the win, but nothing distracts me from the trajectory we’re on.
“We’re building good confidence in our squad. We’re putting depth in our squad. We’re getting fit and available bodies. To me, that’s all positive.
“I’m super proud of our guys. There’s huge disappointment in the room that they lost but I’m super proud of them. I think our supporters, the 26,000 people that were out there, would be super proud of them too.
“Because people are smart enough to recognise that you’re playing virtually an international side. We’ve got this bloke [Tadhg Beirne] and a couple of others but we’re closing the gap. We feel like we’re closing the gap.”
Munster are away to Ulster in the URC on 2 January before they face into crucial Champions Cup pool games away to Toulon and at home against Castres.
While they haven’t been playing consistently excellent rugby this season, Munster sit second in the URC and should be well in contention for a Champions Cup knock-out place.
Beirne, the Munster captain, has similar feelings to his head coach about the direction in which they are travelling.
He certainly believes that Munster have closed the gap to Leinster.
“You’ve seen it with the way we started the season and where we are in the season,” said Beirne.
“I’d be amazed if most people didn’t watch that game and feel like we didn’t leave it slip by us.
“And I think the same with the Stormers game. We should have won that game. And they’re the things that if we can get right, we’re going to take a massive step forward.
“And I think it’s very exciting. I’m very excited for where the next couple of months are going to go for this club. I think we’re getting better and better as the season’s gone on.
“We’re fixing things up as we go and if we can continue to do that and go on that trajectory, we’re going to have a very exciting end to the season.”
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Beirne Leinster McMillan Munster Rivalry URC