THIS WAS A testing week for Rob Penney at Munster, one which he will be glad is nearly at an end.
The only way for the New Zealander and his side to put the Murrayfield horror show behind them is out on the pitch, with a win against Gloucester at Thomond Park.
There was an uncharacteristic crankiness to Penney’s demeanor during media duties this week, a contrast to his usual openness and willingness to engage. That is entirely understandable after what he saw against Edinburgh, and the former Canterbury coach will be wishing away the hours between now and 6pm tomorrow evening.
Returning to Thomond Park is a big relief for Penney, and he is aware of the uplifting effect of the passionate home support.
It’s a world renowned stadium for its home crowd support. The people of the Munster region have gone to Thomond Park many times and carried the team home.
“We’d dearly love to see the Red Army back out as a major force, because when the team has its back against the wall and is desperate to do well there’s nothing like a Thomond Park crowd to help them do well.”
Next up for Munster is a Gloucester side who will have been buoyed by their late comeback win against Perpignan last time out, when a Jonny May try helped them to a 27-22 victory. There were signs of weakness in Nigel Davies’ side’s performance, but Penney isn’t writing them off.
“They’re a good side. They’ve had a few hiccups in the early part of their campaign, but they’re a genuine threat as we know historically and they’ll be no different this week.”
©INPHO/Dan Sheridan.
The Miracle Match will be mentioned in the build-up, justifiably so, but for Munster's coach that great day has nothing to do with tomorrow evening's crucial Pool 6 clash.
[We are a] new team now. Those things are great to dwell on and are a great part of your history, but they don't affect the future in any way unfortunately. We have to create our own path from now on and make sure we write our own history in a positive way."
One area where Gloucester did stand out against Perpignan was at the breakdown, repeatedly making important turnovers close to their own try-line. The Top 14 side were unable to convert multiple chances into tries and the Premiership outfit went on to win the game.
Munster were inconsistent in that area against Edinburgh, according to Penney.
"When we carried the ball our breakdown was really good. It was on the other side; we over-committed to the ball and weren't as accurate as we needed to be. One side of the ball we were really good, the other side we weren't."
Munster's line-out last weekend was a particular point of weakness, with four of their own throws picked off by the Scots. Against Gloucester, that will be another area in which Penney hopes for major improvement, but he has full faith in his forwards.
"It was one of those games where one part of our game didn't work as efficiently as it has all year, where it's been a marvelous part of their play.
"We've got genuine faith in it. When that gets taken away, other elements need to pick up the shortfall. You can't be expected to be 100% across every element every time. We didn't adjust well enough really."
Improvements will be needed in all aspects of Munster's play, but everything coming from camp this week has been positive. Penney is clearly desperate for the game to get underway, for his players to prove to themselves that they are better than last weekend's unacceptable showing at Murrayfield.
"The key thing is we've reviewed well and think we've nailed areas which we didn't quite get right at the weekend and we're looking forward positively to the weekend. It's a great opportunity to get ourselves back on track."
