It’s not easy being a Munster player, or coach for that matter, least of all when teething problems emerge at the start of a new dawn.
Hardly any aspect of their game has worked satisfactorily so far, all of which, as ever, is compounded by Munster’s high-achieving past. A province expects and all that.
As someone who started both the 2006 and 2008 finals, scoring a try in the latter decider against Toulouse, helping to revive Munster motivated Denis Leamy to return as defence coach from Leinster.
Having attended the Energia All-Ireland League Division 2A game between Cashel and UL Bohemians last Saturday, he said: “I bumped into loads of grassroots rugby people and people are very supportive. They understand the patience and the time that is required, and it is nothing but support.
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“I understand in a big club like Munster, and it is a big club, a big European club, there is always going to be pressures and expectations. We knew that when we took the job, we knew that when we played in the jersey. We know the standards that are required, and we are working towards that I can assure you.”
As to whether the legacy of the past weighs heavily on the current crop of players, Leamy said: “There is a standard that’s required and that we push and drive all the time. Are they held to the standard of the past in terms of the expectation? We’ve got to be realistic. We’ve got a different group now, it’s a young group by and large.
“We have to be good with their development; trust them, pick them, expose them. But we can’t smother them by just bludgeoning them with information and expectation. That takes time. It takes time in every club.
“I genuinely believe we have a crop of young players here that, if we manage them right, they can bring us on into the next generation, in 5/10 years’ time. There’s loads of evidence of that starting to appear.”
Munster host the Bulls in their first game of the season on their relaid pitch at Thomond Park on Saturday (kick-off 7.35pm), and the attendance in their team’s hour of need will be instructive.
“I think Thomond Park is a very special place to Munster people and to Munster teams. It is brilliant to be back there, it really is. In terms of the number of the crowd I am not sure. But what I do know is there will be a huge amount of people watching and a huge amount of interest and opinion around it.
“We want to give those people a performance that they are proud of. We want to give a performance we are proud of, and we are conscious of that. Thomond Park is a special ground and you hope that it brings the best out of us.”
Leamy had first-hand experience of the Bulls last season – when they beat Leinster in the semi-final at the RDS.
“They’re full of experience, full of quality. Their physical game, their ability in the tight and their speed in the loose is excellent – a massive challenge no doubt, but it’s a challenge that we’re really looking forward to.”
Nor was it simply a case of transferring his experiences from Leinster to Munster.
“I think the thing with coaching is that you can’t copy and paste. What you have in Leinster, I don’t think would work in Munster.
“There are bits and pieces in how we build our system defensively. I’d have other ideas around certain things that maybe Leinster do differently. Leinster are excellent in terms of what they do but I think we need to grow our own brand and our own way of playing, and obviously that’s very much in its infancy.”
All nine Munster players who were with the Emerging Ireland tour in South Africa will return to training on Thursday and be considered for selection, specifically Shane Daly and Calvin Nash given Mike Haley (groin) Keith Earls (thigh), Andrew Conway (knee) and Simon Zebo (calf) are all sidelined. Peter O’Mahony (shoulder) and Fineen Wycherley (shoulder) will be assessed through the week.
Munster could be forgiven for going back to basics as a win of any hue seems imperative to kickstart their season, especially with Leinster to come in the Aviva a week later. But they are intent on developing a high tempo, ball-in-hand game.
“There’s ways of looking at it, absolutely, and I take your point; a win would be absolutely fantastic. I think you have to look at it in terms of where we’re sitting as well. The performance is what sets us up to win.
“Are we expecting the Bulls to turn up and not play well, and somehow we win a game not playing well? I don’t think that’s realistic. We’re going to have to play really, really well to beat them, in terms of how we execute, how we hold our discipline, field position, really looking to work them hard, playing at a pace that we want to play at. That just lays the foundations for that win. We have to respect what’s on the other side as well.”
