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Extra.ie
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Extra.ie
Everything on the line for Munster in make-or-break encounter with Treviso
Munster won't be lacking for motivation this evening. Treviso are in town for a final-round URC meeting and the province's season — and arguably the most important aspect of next season's campaign — is on the line on Leeside. The in-form Italians are seventh in the league standings with Munster a place below them. Both teams are level on 46 points heading into this pivotal meeting, with the visitors ahead in the table by dint of winning more games. Treviso are in town for a final-round URC meeting. Pic:This is make-or-break for Munster. Victory will assure them safe passage into the URC knockout stages in the coming weeks. Crucially, it will also secure Champions Cup rugby next term. A top-eight finish is paramount. The prospect of Munster missing out on Europe for the first time in their history would be positively galling for this squad and the fanbase. For a club which is steeped in the history of that competition, it would be a hammer blow for a squad which is already in a period of transition. But Denis Leamy, who won a brace of Heineken Cups during the glory days, was fairly blunt on this harsh reality earlier this week. Munster defence coach Denis Leamy. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile 'There's no divine right to be in Europe,' the Munster defence coach declared. 'You have to work hard every day, and that's what our intention is on Friday night, to put our best foot forward and to work as hard as we can, and get the best out of ourselves. 'It is (finely balanced), we've spoken big-picture stuff in terms of possibly playing for the next couple of weeks, but also understanding that there's no tomorrow if Friday night doesn't go well.' There are clear reasons why Munster are scrapping for their lives in the 18th and final round. This team simply haven't been ruthless or consistent enough thus far. There are deeper issues to address in the summer but, for now, it's all about a result this evening. Peter O'Mahony, Conor Murray and Stephen Archer. Pic: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo There is also the small matter of Peter O'Mahony, Conor Murray and Stephen Archer playing their last games in Munster territory. Last weekend, the trio of stalwarts bid farewell to Thomond Park as the hosts cruised to a bonus-point win against Ulster. This is their final act in front of a sold-out crowd at Musgrave Park in Cork. If Munster manage to prevail, they will be on the road for the knockout stages. This is the last dance in front of their home fans. They will be desperate to sign off on a winning note. The province are losing more than 700 caps of experience when this trio head for the exit. O'Mahony and Archer are calling it a day while Murray is seeking pastures new abroad for one more season. Conor Murray is seeking pastures new abroad for one more season. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie All three have been part of the furniture for the best part of 15 years. Archer made his senior debut against Edinburgh in Murrayfield in October 2009, O'Mahony broke into the first team three months later. Murray followed suit in April 2010. O'Mahony and Murray became institutions, at club and international level. They signed off on the recent Six Nations as Test centurions. Both represented the Lions with distinction. Archer didn't hit the same heights at international level — winning both of his Ireland caps almost a decade ago — but no one has played more games than the durable and ever-reliable tighthead. All three will be missed. Motivation will be high within the camp to ensure that this isn't the end of the road. Equally, O'Mahony and Co will be desperate to leave the operation in a better place. O'Mahony and Co will be desperate to leave the operation in a better place. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile Whatever about the business end of the URC, making sure that Munster don't miss out on Europe's top table is a powerful factor. Clayton McMillan is arriving for the latest reboot in the summer and the idea of beginning a new rebuild in the Challenge Cup is a grim enough prospect. There's plenty of emotional fuel for the fire. And Munster will draw encouragement from the performances of Tom Farrell, who will make his 25th start in a Munster shirt during a superb campaign, his fellow midfielder, Alex Nankivell and the pacy back three of Thaakir Abrahams, Calvin Nash and Diarmuid Kilgallen. If Craig Casey and Jack Crowley get enough front-foot ball, Munster have a backline that can trouble any team in this competition. In Tadhg Beirne and O'Mahony, they have two leaders who can inspire a pack which is still punching above its weight at the top level. Murray is very much the elder statesman on a youthful bench filled with the next generation. Munster won't be lacking for motivation this evening. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie Munster need one of those trademark backs-to-the-wall displays tonight. Especially given the calibre of the opposition. Treviso will arrive in Cork in a rich vein of form after thumping second-placed Glasgow 33-7 last weekend. Bulk suppliers to the ever-improving Italian national team, there are plenty of familiar faces on board. And many of the same personnel which caused Ireland all sorts of problems during that nervy, final-round win against the Azzurri in Rome a few months ago. Tommaso Menoncello and Ignacio Brex caused havoc at Stadio Olimpico on that occasion and Italy's all-action midfield will take some stopping here. Manuel Zuliani and Lorenzo Cannone are the stand-out performers in a strong pack while fellow Italy internationals Niccolò Cannone and Sebastian Negri are named on a strong bench featuring former Munster centre Malakai Fekitoa. The likes of Jacob Umaga, Paolo Odogwu, Ignacio Mendy, Thomas Gallo and Scott Scrafton have proven shrewd signings, too. Juan Ignacio Brex and Tommaso Menoncello at the end of the Six Nations match between Italy and Ireland earlier this year. Pic: Giampiero Sposito/Federugby via Getty Images This is a stacked Treviso side who have high ambitions as well. For both teams, there is simply no tomorrow. Defeat this evening will mean an early end to the season and a long summer of rumination. The stakes couldn't be higher for Munster. They will need to deliver a huge performance against one of the league's in-form sides. A nervy night in Cork is in store.
Irish Examiner
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
'We're reared on cup rugby': Jeopardy suits Munster says Denis Leamy
Denis Leamy is confident his players can continue being cup rugby mentality monsters when Munster bid to reach the URC play-offs in their final game of the regular season at home to Benetton in Cork this Friday night. The 2023 champions came up with a big performance when it mattered last Friday at Thomond Park when they delivered a bonus-point victory over derby rivals Ulster to keep their season alive but the job is only half done. To reach the knockout rounds and qualify for next season's Champions Cup, Munster must win again to be certain or face an anxious wait across the rest of the weekend in the hope they are not the only team to have fluffed their lines. The 38-20 win over Ulster gives confidence that Munster can hang on their top-eight status and the motivating drivers of providing a winning end on home soil for departing players remains in place this week as Peter O'Mahony, Conor Murray and Stephen Archer prepare for a last hurrah at Virgin Media Park. Momentum has been regained after ending a three-game losing run in emphatic fashion with six tries scored last weekend and defence coach Leamy is encouraged that Munster's DNA is alive and kicking in his players. 'We've spoken big picture stuff in terms of possibly playing for the next couple of weeks, but also understanding that there's no tomorrow if Friday night doesn't go well,' Leamy said on Monday after the squad's return to the training field. "It's a cup game, it carries that kind of jeopardy. Luckily, we're reared on cup rugby in this province. From schoolboys up, it's part of our tradition, what we're used to. "So, we embrace that. It's just about executing the plan on the day." Benetton will start the weekend one place above their hosts in seventh place but on equal points with both Munster and ninth-placed Cardiff. All of those, and Edinburgh only two points behind them, are fighting for a place in the quarter-finals beyond Round 18 but Leamy has seen the positive effects of his province switching to that knockout rugby mentality. "It's certainly a challenge. It's definitely the fact that we're still alive, that our own destiny is in our own hands... that's a really important thing. "We had a very good week, as well, it's important to say that. "We just pointed out a few things that we really wanted to go after in all aspects of the game. "It was good to see that with a big dollop of work-rate and want, we had a good performance on Friday and it was good enough to beat a good Ulster team. "It was a good performance, it wasn't perfect but we've spoken about how we can improve and what we're facing this weekend against Benetton, their multiple threats and a very exciting backline, a very strong set-piece in terms of scrum and lineout, maul. "So, it's how we deal with that in terms of carrying that forward and impose our game on it. "I back our lads all the time, we've a lot experience. We've got players who have been Lions, players who have played multiple times for Ireland, players who, two years ago, won a URC. "We back ourselves, we back the quality within the group. It's a great challenge, it's one we fully embrace." That Monday's squad update issued by Munster was as straightforward as it has been all season offers more grounds for optimism to supporters, who rushed to buy tickets for Cork after the final whistle in Limerick last Friday and turned the Virgin Media Park game into an 8,800 sell-out. Hooker Diarmuid Barron and tighthead prop Oli Jager missed the Ulster game and their respective shoulder and head injuries will also keep them out this Friday, though those players that did return last weekend - Tom Ahern, John Hodnett, and Josh Wycherley in addition to Archer, Murray and O'Mahony – all came through that game without issue, as did utility back Liam Coombes in last week's Munster A game against Connacht Eagles. Munster have also been boosted by a return to training for power forward Edwin Edogbo following 17 months out with an Achilles tendon injury. 'It's been such a tough time for Edwin,' Leamy said of the 22-year-old lock. 'The last game he played was against Leinster two Christmases ago. And he's been through the ringer… he's had a very difficult time. 'It wasn't his first time having that injury so to have to go through it again, it's so difficult for players to be out that long and to go through the day-to-day, just the rigmarole of coming in when you don't have that carrot at the end of the week where you're playing. 'It's so hard on lads like that, but I think Edwin has applied himself really well. He was on the pitch today with us and did a lot of the session, and he looked good.' Munster's official line was the Cobh Pirates clubman's availability for selection to face Benetton would be determined as the week progressed but Leamy offered a different assessment. 'The hope is to get him minutes over the next couple of weeks, that'll be in an A game first and foremost, not against Benetton. 'There's an A game and the plan is to get him some minutes in that. That's very pleasing. He's still got a little bit to go with the nature of those injuries it's not simple, but everyone's wishing Edwin the best of luck and he's something different in fairness, he's a really, really good player, so hopefully we can get him back to where he was.'
Irish Daily Mirror
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Cork fans are Ireland's best as Leamy predicts rocking atmosphere for URC finale
Denis Leamy predicts Musgrave Park will be rocking on Friday night as Munster chase the victory that sets in stone their place in the URC play-offs - and in next season's Champions Cup. Currently occupying the eighth and final spot for the play-offs, the Reds know that a victory against Benetton in their final regular season fixture will secure a place in the quarter-finals and a place at European club rugby's top table again. However a draw or a defeat will leave the province sweating, with the resurgent Scarlets gunning to overtake by beating the Sharks in Durban the following day. After the emotional scenes in Limerick generated by Peter O'Mahony's try in the vital win over Ulster and the Thomond Park farewell for Reds greats Conor Murray, Stephen Archer and O'Mahony, Leamy expects the Cork crowd to serve up something special this week. 'I think it's very important," said the former Reds star turned defence coach for the team. "I think the bond between the supporters and the players and Munster is really important, and that I hope will never change. The atmosphere on Friday night was really good and the supporters really got behind the team in crucial moments. 'The send off for Peter and Archie and Conor and these guys, that's really important and a great chance for the supporters to show what they think of the boys and what they think of the team. It's just a great chance to bring people together and we value our support so much. "There will be that little bit of emotion around the fact that the boys are retiring to Cork for their final game. That will be there but we've a big job of work to do. We're playing a very good team and it's fair to say it's a Cup final, or a Cup game. "We've spoken about how we want to implement our game plan, their threats, they have many, a very good backline, good set-piece, maul, scrum. So look, it's going to be a real challenge, a tough affair and there's an awful lot on the line but it's a great challenge and one we're genuinely looking forward to. "Cork will be exceptional. The Cork sports people - as a county, the best in Ireland. Musgrave will be rocking. It will feel like 16,000, it will feel unbelievable and I know that the Cork supporters will give us everything on Friday night.' Leamy expects the same from the players, who he insists are well versed in terms of big occasions of this nature. It's not quite do or die but it's do or nearly die for the province. "Now, the pressure of the fixture, we're very lucky that the majority of our players grew up playing Cup rugby," he said. "It's a Cup match and that's something that we're well versed in and we've a long history in. So, we embrace that and we embrace the challenge and look forward to it." Echoing the post-match words of interim head coach Ian Costello that it is only half-time in Munster's mission, Leamy is pleased that the players have got the week off to a good start with the review process and first training day. "It's about delivering and putting our best foot forward," he stated. "We fully believe in our players and we've got players who have played at the very highest level and have won a URC only a couple of seasons before. So these boys have been in tough places and we back them all the way. "It's very clear cut, you win the game and that probably takes care of the vast majority of what we need to do, so that will be the thing. Just try and go out and, as difficult as it will be, put in place a performance that can win the game.
RTÉ News
12-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Denis Leamy says Munster will embrace Benetton 'cup final'
Munster are well aware that their task to qualify for the BKT URC play-offs and the Champions Cup is only half done, according to defence coach Denis Leamy. Victory over Ulster on Friday night, and the weekend's subsequent results, leave Munster in eighth place in the table, in between Benetton and Cardiff with all three teams on 46 points. The Italians, who beat champions Glasgow 33-7 in round 17, are the visitors to Musgrave Park on Friday night (8pm) and they will secure their passage with a win or a draw. A win for Munster will seal their place in the knock-outs, while Cardiff and Edinburgh, on 44 points, are waiting to see who slips up. The Welsh region are away to Stormers, while the Scots host Ulster, who are out of the running. All three games are on Friday night. "It's only half-time in these two games and we spoke about that," former Ireland back row Leamy told RTÉ Sport. "The feeling is we had a very good training week last week and we put in place certain things that we wanted to go after against Ulster and I think the boys put their best foot forward. "It wasn't perfect by any means but we'd a good performance and in fairness, Ulster challenged us and they came at us from the start. "They scored a couple of tries but the boys were really good, calm. "We stuck to the plan and got the job done so very pleasing from that point of view." Interim head coach Ian Costello said that much of the motivation to beat Ulster came with the fact that stalwarts Peter O'Mahony, Stephen Archer and Conor Murray were playing their final games at Thomond Park and Leamy acknowledged that they won't be able to fully park that aspect with Cork natives O'Mahony and Archer, in particular, getting their home-town send-off. "There will be that little bit of emotion around the fact that the boys are retiring to Cork for their final game," he said. "That will be there but we've a big job of work to do. We're playing a very good team and it's fair to say it's a cup final, or a cup game. "We've spoken about how we want to implement our game plan, their threats, they have many, a very good backline, good set-piece, maul, scrum. "So look, it's going to be a real challenge, a tough affair and there's an awful lot on the line but it's a great challenge and one we're genuinely looking forward to." While Munster's fate is in their own hands, there remains the possibility that their season could be over at ten o'clock on Friday night and the prospect of missing out on Champions Cup rugby for the first time looms large. Asked about the pressure on the club, Leamy said: "We're very lucky that the majority of our players grew up playing cup rugby, so it's a cup match, and that's something that we're well versed in and we've a long history in. "So, we embrace that and we embrace the challenge and look forward to it. "I know it probably won't come as a surprise [but] it's as boring as having a check list in terms of the content that we need to get covered, on a Monday and a Wednesday and a Friday, and getting through that check list and creating a training environment that is challenging and exciting, constantly trying to create learning within that as well. "We had a very good start today. I think we did a very good review/preview of what we did against Ulster and what we're going to face against Benetton. "We had a very good session, so that's today boxed away. "We've put in place a good foundation, now we build on it on Wednesday and then on into Thursday for our captain's run, and you're hoping that it all comes together in a big performance on Friday night." Munster will be without hooker Diarmuid Barron (shoulder) and prop Oli Jager (head) but confirmed that Archer, Murray, O'Mahony, John Hodnett, Tom Ahern and Josh Wycherley all came through the weekend's game with no issues following their returns from injury. Liam Coombes also made a successful return to action in last week's Munster 'A' clash against Connacht Eagles, while there was good news for Edwin Edogbo as he returns to training this week and his availability for selection will be determined as the week progresses.
