'It hasn't been mentioned' - 2023 URC title win not on Munster minds ahead of Sharks trip
Munster's odds-defying run to the 2023 URC title may be etched into supporter's minds and hearts but Calvin Nash said the team had not discussed their remarkable knockout performances on the road ahead of this Saturday's quarter-final against the Sharks in South Africa.
Ireland wing Nash was part of the squad which ended a 12-year wait for silverware when Glasgow, Leinster and then final opponents the Stormers were beaten on successive weekends.
Now Munster face a potentially similar route to the 2025 decider with a daunting challenge against the third-seeded Sharks at Durban's Kings Park.
Nash, who started the quarter-final win at Scotstoun, missed the following week's Aviva Stadium semi-final following a failed Head Injury Assessment and then returned in the Cape Town final to score a try in a famous 19-14 victory over the Stormers, said: 'Being honest, it hasn't been something that we've mentioned, it's been two years, the team is different.
'A few of us do have a few reference points but we are taking the game as it is. We are taking each game week by week. The last two games that we had essentially were knockout games for us and we weren't in the best position in the URC.
'That's how we treated them and this week will be no different.' Nash has enjoyed mixed fortunes at Kings Park, with a regular season draw there the highpoint as Munster secured their play-off place in that title-winning season coming three weeks after a humbling 50-35 Champions Cup Round of 16 loss to the Sharks.
Munster also lost heavily in Durban last October but Nash had already experienced victory as an Ireland player three months earlier when Ciaran Frawley's drop goal secured a series-tying win over the Springboks in the second Test against the world champions.
'The games over here are some of the hardest games you'll play in the URC,' Nash said from Durban on Wednesday.
'Even last summer, some of the hardest internationals I've played. You know you have to step up a bit here and it always takes a bit extra to win down here. That's what we are targeting here, trying to get the most out of ourselves.'
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Extra.ie
an hour ago
- Extra.ie
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Who gives a s**t if Leinster win the URC?' said O'Callaghan, adding that he would prefer if Leinster's Lions were rested so they could be fresh for the summer tour to Australia. Controversial opinions are the bedrock of popular podcasts but this was still a particularly extreme position to take. Since the Champions Cup defeat by Northampton, a giant heat lamp has been trained on Leo Cullen, Jacques Nienaber and the Leinster squad — and it demands a reaction. Andrew Porter has said they are all about Europe. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile The immediate response to 'who gives a s**t if Leinster win the URC?' is: Leinster do. Indeed, given how this season has panned out (on the back of a trophy drought extending to 2021 and a Champions Cup void going back to 2018) you could say winning the URC title is now non-negotiable for Leinster. Put it this way, picture a scenario where Leinster lose in the next few weeks and imagine the fallout then. Ending yet another season empty-handed, despite having access to Jordie Barrett, RG Snyman and Rabah Slimani (after an initial IRFU ruling on no overseas prop signings), not to mention two-time World Cup-winning coach Jacques Nienaber, would create a toxic fallout — one where there would be intense pressure for heads to roll. Jordie Barrett after Leinster crashed out of the Champions Cup. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile As the chief decision-makers, on and off the pitch, Cullen and Nienaber are most vulnerable but URC capitulation on the back of another Champions Cup flop would put pressure for change on the entire backroom staff. So, rather than be dismissed as an irrelevance, the URC has now assumed monumental importance for Leinster — with dire consequences for failure. And, although Leinster are overwhelming favourites to claim the URC trophy, it is far from a done deal. If they get past the Scarlets tomorrow (which they should do at home with relative ease), Leinster will face the winners of tonight's Glasgow-Stormers quarter-final. Leinster head coach Leo Cullen (right) with senior coach Jacques Nienaber. Pic: INPHO/Morgan Treacy Glasgow are reigning champions, with a squad laced with internationals and should see off the South Africans at home but either side is capable of upsetting Leinster on their day. Then if they do make it to the final, Leinster will face either Munster, the Sharks or the Bulls (it is pretty safe to assume Edinburgh will not make it to the decider). Munster have shown their capacity for pulling out massive performances in knockout matches and if they make it past the Sharks tomorrow at a soldout Kings Park, they will be fuelled by the same levels of confidence and verve that took them all the way a couple of years ago. The Sharks have not been equal to the sum of their parts so far, but their squad is jammed with elite Springboks and, if they click, they can take anyone out. Meanwhile the Bulls, while not carting the same levels of South African stardust as the Sharks, still possess plenty of potency and have an impressive collective spirit — finishing second only to Leinster in the URC table, with 14 wins from 18 outings. Sharks stars Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth. Pic: Steve Haag Sports/REX/Shutterstock Key to all of this is the attitude of the South African sides. Unlike the apathy they reserve for the Champions Cup (South African sides competing in the European Cup has always seemed an ill-fit), they are all-in when it comes to the URC and it makes them extremely dangerous. Lots of pitfalls then for Leinster as they seek to justify their 4/9 favouritism. There is no question that Cullen has the tools at his disposal to reel off three knockout victories to end their trophyless hell. 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In 2007-08, Leinster had the same type of 'nearly men' tag that the current side labours under after years of coming up short. Leinster's 2008 league victory proved a springboard to sustained success. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile But under the radar, Michael Cheika was steadily introducing steel to the squad and, after a long tough campaign, they landed the league title. It got lost in the wash of Munster landing their second European Cup around the same time and Leinster's achievement was not seen as a significant step towards closing the gap on their southern rivals. But that is just what it was. Brian O'Driscoll has spoken many times about how that 2008 league win gave Leinster the belief they could go on to bigger and better things — and the following season they established a dominance in Irish rugby they have yet to relinquish. Cullen was part of that journey as a player and he will see similar opportunities now also. 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Irish Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
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Leinster v Scarlets, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, 3pm, Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU, 22nd league game) Live on: RTÉ, BBC Wales, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & Hugo Keenan, Jimmy O'Brien, Jamie Osborne, Jordie Barrett, James Lowe, Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park, Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Thomas Clarkson, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan (CAPT)Replacements: Dan Sheehan, Jack Boyle, Rabah Slimani, RG Snyman, Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Luke McGrath, Ciarán FrawleyScarlets: Blair Murray, Tom Rogers, Joe Roberts, Johnny Williams, Ellis Mee, Sam Costelow, Arhie Hughes, Alec Hepburn, Ryan Elias, Henry Thomas, Alex Craig, Sam Lousi, Vaea Fifita, Josh Macleod (CAPT), Taine PlumtreeReplacements: Marnus van der Merwe, Kemsley Mathias, Sam Wainwright, Dan Davis, Jarrod Taylor, Efan Jones, Ioan Lloyd, Macs Page
