Munster need a repeat of their 2023 heroics to land another URC title… but this team thrives in foreign lands
Munster are on the road again. The squad boarded a flight to South Africa yesterday ahead of a seismic URC quarter-final with a Springboks-laden Sharks side in Durban on Saturday.
That part of the world doesn't hold particularly fond memories for this playing group. Kings Park was the scene of a 41-24 hammering at the hands of the rampant hosts in October, a fitting end to a miserable two-week tour of South Africa.
Munster weren't in a great place then. Graham Rowntree would part ways with the club a few days after the chartered flight had landed back on Irish soil. This turbulent campaign has never really settled down. Graham Rowntree. Pic: Shaun Roy/Sportsfile
There have been some high points, including the stirring Champions Cup last-16 win at La Rochelle, but they have been maddeningly inconsistent.
The fact that Munster needed a win against Treviso in the final round of the competition last weekend to secure a last-ditch place in the play-offs says everything about the stuttering nature of their performances. But they got the job done. And they head for the URC play-offs with some precious commodities at this time of year: confidence and momentum.
Munster are far from world beaters, and the standard of Saturday's Champions Cup final in Cardiff looked a few levels above anything this current squad could deliver. Saying that, Ian Costello's crew have the ability, confidence and muscle memory to go deep in this competition again. They will draw immense belief from what transpired two seasons ago. It was a familiar scene. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie
Rowntree, having succeeded Johann van Graan, was overseeing his first term in charge. Mike Prendergast had arrived from Racing 92 to overhaul an attack which had become blunt and predictable. Denis Leamy was lured down from Leinster to bring some steel to the defence.
Suffice it to say, there were teething problems early on. Munster lost five of their seven URC outings, and words such as 'crisis' began to do the rounds. Many observers predicted that they would struggle to make the top eight. This wasn't dramatics. Munster were in a big hole at the time.
Slowly, but surely, Rowntree's troops began to find their groove. Thanks to a few gutsy performances on South African soil, they snuck into the play–offs and were greeted with a fiendishly difficult route to the final. If Munster were going to land a first title since 2011, they were going to have to do it the hard way. Leinster head coach Leo Cullen. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
What happened next was positively startling. Glasgow were beaten at Scotstoun. Leinster awaited in the semi-final at Aviva Stadium. Leo Cullen, keeping one eye on a looming Champions Cup final against La Rochelle, kept a host of frontliners on ice.
Munster didn't need a second invitation to pounce on the vulnerable visitors, with Jack Crowley's late drop goal sealing their place in the final. A video of the Stormers celebrating that result would soon go viral, with one player infamously screaming 'We are gonna f*** them up' at the camera.
Munster rolled into Cape Town and duly landed the title. Three daunting away assignments. Three wins. Jack Crowley. Pic: Grant Pitcher/Sportsfile
Just to emphasise the enormity of this achievement, it was the first time that all three teams had lost a home game that season. 'There is no other team that has done this, six games away from home. And no one will ever do it again,' Rowntree reflected after that stunning win at DHL Stadium. 'But we will find a hard way to do it next time!'
Munster has a pedigree in this competition, so make no mistake about it. They believe they can go on another run and secure a second title in three seasons. This team hasn't been shy on the subject either.
Gavin Coombes made this squad's ambitions very clear a few weeks ago. 'We are still going to challenge for the title if we can,' the Munster No. 8 declared recently. 'When we won it, we came fifth and we went away every game, so why can't we do that again?
'When we have been on it this season, we have had some great days and great performances. There is a lot of belief in this group that we have the talent to challenge for the league, so that's definitely what we are speaking about.'
They have thrived on the road. It's ironic, really, given this team's rich history at Thomond Park. You could even argue that this current squad are delivering their biggest displays away from their Limerick fortjack ress.
Yes, the Sharks will be laden with Test match quality. Their front five, featuring Springbok regulars such as Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Vincent Koch and Eben Etzebeth, will be sizing up Munster's creaky scrum, while Siya Kolisi, Andre Esterhuizen and Makazole Mapimpi will punch holes all day.
But Munster will still feel quietly confident they can spring an upset in Durban. Just like in 2023, they have found form at the right time. This group has been through the mill, losing a head coach midway through the campaign, and has come out the other side.
They have the added motivation of ensuring that Peter O'Mahony, Conor Murray and Stephen Archer won't be playing their last games in the red jersey this weekend. O'Mahony has looked reborn in recent weeks, and the veteran flanker is leading a young pack from the front, while Craig Casey and Crowley have been in sublime form.
And Munster know they have a backline which can trouble any team in this league, with Alex Nankivell, Tom Farrell, Calvin Nash, and Thaakir Abrahams thriving. They will attack this week with vigour—another big task in enemy territory. Munster will relish it.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
36 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Glasgow have their homework done ahead of Leinster rematch
It's eight weeks to the day since Glasgow Warriors were thumped 52-0 by Leinster at Aviva Stadium in the quarter-final of the Investec Champions Cup, and yet there's a sense that the Scottish side are returning to Dublin this weekend with those scars fully healed. In the immediate aftermath of that hammering in April, Glasgow boss Franco Smith kept an even keel. "For me, we've been winning quite a bit and pushing the players' boundaries and limits every week but today they found out what is still needed to be competitive in international rugby or the top end of club rugby," he said, after his side were "bullied" by their hosts. Smith wasn't the first coach to say his side would take their learnings from a big defeat to Leinster, but the evidence suggests those were not empty words. When they returned to Dublin three weeks ago in the final round of the URC's regular season, they put up a much sterner fight in a 13-5 defeat, and while the game was ultimately a dead-rubber, they frustrated a Leinster side whose confidence looked dented following their Champions Cup exit against the Northampton Saints. As they prepare to meet this Saturday, all of the pressure is on Leinster, who are desperate to end a four-year wait for silverware. Glasgow arrive into town off the back of a 36-18 win against the Stormers last time out, arguably their best performance of the season. "Leinster are the standard setters in this competition," Smith (above) said, after naming his side for Saturday's semi-final. "They finished top of the standings for a reason, and have consistently out-performed teams across the course of this season while showing their strength in depth. "It is a challenge that we know we will need to be at our best to meet, and the players are focused on the task at hand. "Training this week has been sharp and competitive, with every player working hard for each other to put this squad in the best possible position for tomorrow afternoon." If Glasgow are to retain the title they won last season, they will once again have to do it the hard way. Just as it was last season, Ireland and South Africa would be their semi-final and final destinations, should they go all the way. But Smith isn't thinking any further than the Aviva. "It's a semi-final. The mindset and approach and attitude in a final game is obviously the main ingredient," he said. "We've got to be on top of our game. They've got a world-class team. They've proven it in the Test match arena, they've proven it in this competition. "It's a class outfit. It's going to be a tough challenge. "The only way we're going to get better and keep on growing and progressing is if we challenge ourselves to be the best version of ourselves." While Leinster are without Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier, Garry Ringrose, Tadhg Furlong and now Hugo Keenan, Glasgow are also dealing with a hefty injury list this weekend. Two of their British and Irish Lions squad members, Zander Fagerson and Huw Jones (above), are out injured, while Scotland internationals Matt Fagerson and Jack Dempsey are also sidelined. Sione Tuipulotu, who returned from a long term injury in Round 18 against Leinster, looked back to his best in the quarter-final win against the Stormers, and the Scotland captain shifts across to outside centre this week, Tom Jordan pivoting from out-half to first centre, and Adam Hastings coming in at out-half. "We've had a couple of outings in Dublin already this year, so we know what we're coming up against on Saturday," Jordan said. "We fully expect Leinster to bring their best and we know how strong they are across the field. "We know we need to get our mindset right and just have each other's back for 80 minutes – we're loving our footy at the minute and we want to leave it all out there for each other on Saturday. "All the players know deep down what we have to do. "We've got to relish these matches and we know what it takes in this competition. Everyone's excited to get out to Dublin, and we're ready to get stuck in this weekend."
Irish Daily Mirror
38 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Shauna Bannon: "With the good and the bad days, I still have my son"
Irish UFC fighter Shauna Bannon has cited her son Jayce as her biggest motivator as she pushes for success in the UFC strawweight division. "Mama B" is 7-1 in professional MMA, with the 31-year-old's only loss coming in her UFC debut against Bruna Brasil. She told the Irish Mirror: "I thought I was motivated before I had him, but now it's just on a different level. I could be having such a bad day, a bad training session, or I'm injured or whatever, and I still get to go home and he's there, making me laugh and joke. "I remember when I lost my debut, I felt like s***. And then I got to go home to him, and he just put a smile back on my face. "With the good and the bad days, I still have him, and that's huge to me." While providing for her son is now Bannon's biggest motivation, it was her father who sparked her love for kickboxing. "Only the other day, my main kickboxing gym, Tallaght Martial Arts, my Dad's gym, was moving to a new location and clearing up, and I was looking at the collages on the walls of photos from all over the years. "I actually got so emotional seeing those photos. I was crying because I was thinking that I don't know where I'd be today if my Dad had never got me into kickboxing. "Normally young girls go into dancing or singing or something completely different. So, I'm so grateful that my Dad put me on that journey, and it led me to the path that I'm on now. "I can't imagine what my life would be like if I didn't do kickboxing. I literally get to live every day doing what I love. And I couldn't imagine it being any different. "My Dad is still in my corner now when I fight in the UFC and it's really special to have him there." Bannon is unsure whether kickboxing or jiu jitsu is her main discipline, as she practised so much jiu jitsu during her early career that she is now used to both styles. She explained: "When I first started, I soon realised that I needed to learn how to do jujitsu, because I had no background in it. I'd never even watched it. So, it wasn't like I even had a slight idea about it. I had to learn everything from scratch. "I remember my first sparring session, I was like, kick, kick, kick, and I just got double-legged [a jiu jitsu takedown]. And then I was on the ground and I didn't know what to do there. "So, I spent a good chunk of the first, probably year and a half, just doing jujitsu. I actually stopped doing striking completely. "Sometimes I'd take a half day from work to make the lunchtime class. I was sometimes doing jujitsu three times a day, because I just felt like I really needed to catch up. But now, to be honest, if you had to make me choose, and I got paid the same for striking or jujitsu, I'd probably do jujitsu." She revealed that by the time she turned pro, the Dubliner had a multitude of suitors for promotions, before settling on Invicta Fighting Championships, which is an all-women's series. She said: "I had one from Ares, I had one from Cage Warriors, I had one from Oktagon, I had one from KSW. And then I had one from Invicta. And there was PSL [as well]. "I had to do the pros and cons, and I wrote out. It wasn't even about the money at that stage because I had to think long term, you know, I was offered more money with different promotions. "But I went with Invicta because I did see it as the stepping stone to get into the UFC. And luckily it worked out. "I was originally offered an opportunity for the Contender Series, and then they actually just contacted me again, said they watched more of my fights and they wanted to sign me straight away. "Then they had an opponent for me and then I fought on the UFC London, so it all happened very, very fast. "There wasn't a lot of time to kind of digest it, but I'm so grateful for the opportunity that the UFC has given me and Invicta because they were an amazing promotion to fight with as well. Bannon thanked OnlyFans for the ability to pursue a fighting career as funding can be limited without sponsorship, especially at lower levels. "The sponsorship that I have with OnlyFans has given me that financial security because fighters don't get paid a lot, especially at the start. "And since my last fight and the partnership with OnlyFans, I'm financially secure, which takes a huge weight off my shoulders because I'm a single mother. I still have bills to pay. "It's a good way of getting closer to my fans as well because sometimes on other platforms, I wouldn't be able to connect with them in that way. "So it kind of gives that other connection with the fans as well that you're not normally able to give." She is hoping for two more UFC fights before the end of the year. "I'm hoping to fight again this summer. I'm just waiting on confirmation. And then if I do fight in the summer, I'd love to fight again before the end of the year. "I like to keep the momentum going and be active, as active as I can." OnlyFans has a huge range of sport creators offering exclusive behind the scenes content and insights into their training, including boxers, tennis stars, and MMA fighters. Fans can check out Shauna Bannon's OnlyFans at:
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
‘Everyone has an opinion' – James Ryan fed up with outside noise ahead of URC semi-final against Glasgow
LEINSTER lock James Ryan insists the Blues are blocking out the noise ahead of Saturday's URC semi-final against Glasgow. The 2 James Ryan is not fussed about outside noise ahead of Leinster's clash vs Glasgow 2 Leinster face Glasgow tomorrow in a crucial semi-final clash in Dublin The Ireland lock was speaking as Leinster faced media and fan backlash after another year of European heartbreak after being heavily fancied to win the premier club rugby competion. But Ryan insist the don't care about the nay sayers as their primer focus in now firmly on the Speaking to the media ahead of Saturday's clash, Ryan was in no mood to speak about the past. read more on rugby He stated: "We're try to ignore it, you know what I mean. Everyone has an opinion now, and that's just the way it is" "For us, it comes back to ourselves. What matters most is what we think as players and coaches as how the games have gone. "We've some of the best coaches in the world at this club. Ultimately we are our own harshest critics..I think. "We've put our hands up - the performance wasn't good enough - especially against Northampton. But we have to move on now, we're into knockout rugby. Most read in Rugby Union "Now it's just about getting excited about this week, playing at home in a semi-final. "If you told us in July that we'd have had a home semi, we'd have bitten your hand off. So, the guys are excited to get going again." 'Big weekend' - Peter O'Mahony embarking on hectic gardening project as he aims to add '300 plants' Meanwhile, Lions duo Josh van der Flier and Hugo Keenan are absent for Leinster tomorrow. But boss Leo Cullen insisted that both are okay for the Lions, and could resume training next week IF Leinster can secure a final date at Croke Park. Josh Van der Flier limped out of While full-back Hugo Keenan has a slight calf issue that flared up during the week. And that meant
