TWENTY-FOUR GAMES, 22 wins. You are hardly being overly patriotic when you suggest Irish teams are flying it in this seasons’ Pro14.
You only have to read the results to come up with that kind of assessment for yourself. “I have noticed it,” Steve Larkham says. “And it is a testament to the programme the IRFU have put in place, making sure the teams are performing and that they have good players there to perform.
“But really I am not looking too far outside our own place. So while on the one hand I am glad to see the other Irish teams doing well, on the other hand, they are also direct competitors to us. There’s enough for us to think about here.”
Most of the thoughts have been happy ones. Deprived of Joey Carbery, RG Snyman, Peter O’Mahony, CJ Stander, Dave Kilvoyne, Chris Farrell, Conor Murray and Keith Earls for a variety of reasons, Munster have discovered that their new signings and academy graduates more than fit the bill.
“Our set-piece has been really good in our first five games and the other factor in our favour this season is that we are putting in 80-minute performances,” says Rory Scannell. “Like, we are not playing for the first 60 minutes and then struggling in the last quarter. A lot of the games we have won late on.”
The first two were won particularly late, Scarlets and Edinburgh caught on the tape.
“We have plenty of experience in the squad as well so you know if someone is out injured, we know the next guy in is capable of doing a good job. We have quality across the board and that allows us to have that squad rotation and mix younger guys in with more experienced ones which has been great.”
Not great for the Welsh, Scots or Italians, though. Between them they look a sorry lot, although Larkham spoke about them, and the league, with a lot more generosity.
“It is a magnificent competition to be a part of,” he said.
Really?
Is that how the folks back in Australia view it?
“When you look at the Super Rugby competition from over here, and you hear the (Munster) guys talking about it, there are certainly players who say they (Super Rugby sides) are not playing real rugby.
“The thing is they have perfect conditions every week, not a lot of travel involved, so it is such (an) easy (job for guys to play good) rugby over there. And then vice versa, the Southern Hemisphere has players saying the game in the north is dour because of all the weather conditions and all that sort of stuff.
“But you know you don’t really study it when you are on the other side of the world. I guess, from my perspective, since coming over here to be a part of Munster, and be a part of this competition, you certainly appreciate that this is real rugby; this is the rugby that I grew up with.
“Club rugby was played in the winter time and the fields were muddy in Canberra where I grew up.
“Then Super Rugby came in and we started playing games in January, which is the back end of summer and you had perfect conditions. But this (winter in Limerick) is the rugby I grew up with.”
Sentiment fuels his respect then. However, he may have a different view on things if Munster come unstuck in December when Harlequins and Clermont provide a much tougher test in the Champions Cup. Are Munster being well enough tested right now?
“Well, look at our season, the first two rounds (against Scarlets and Edinburgh) were won in the 80th minute.
“That alone is a massive test. It is part physical but a lot of it is mental and we have learned a lot mentally. These young players, Ben, Craig Casey coming in, JJ in there now, playing so well – we have learned so much over these first six games. You have to say yes it is preparing us well for the next challenges.”
Tonight’s challenge, away to Glasgow (8.15pm, eir Sport), is arguably their toughest to date.
Munster:
15. Mike Haley
14. Calvin Nash
13. Rory Scannell
12. Damian de Allende
11. Matt Gallagher
10. Ben Healy
9. Craig Casey
1. James Cronin
2. Kevin O’Byrne
3. Stephen Archer
4. Jean Kleyn
5. Billy Holland (captain)
6. Fineen Wycherley
7. Jack O’Sullivan
8. Gavin Coombes
Replacements:
16. Rhys Marshall
17. Josh Wycherley
18. Keynan Knox
19. Jack O’Donoghue
20. Tommy O’Donnell
21. Nick McCarthy
22. JJ Hanrahan
23. Dan Goggin
Glasgow Warriors:
15. Glenn Bryce
14. Tommy Seymour
13. Nick Grigg
12. Robbie Fergusson
11. Robbie Nairn
10. Pete Horne
9. Sean Kennedy
1. Aki Seiuli
2. Grant Stewart
3. Enrique Pieretto
4. Lewis Bean
5. Rob Harley
6. Ryan Wilson (captain)
7. Tom Gordon
8. TJ Ioane
Replacements:
16. Johnny Matthews
17. Alex Allan
18. D’arcy Rae
19. Hamish Bain
20. Fotu Lokotui
21. Caleb Korteweg
22. Brandon Thomson
23. Niko Matawalu
Referee: Adam Jones [WRU].
