Munster fans must be itching to see their strongest XV in action.
It may not be until round five of the Guinness PRO14 until we get to see Munster at full strength but Johann van Graan’s men should be off to a decent start by then.
The opening four rounds of the league are kind to Munster. They are up against Glasgow at Scotstoun in week two but can realistically target three wins from the other matches – Cheetahs (home), Ospreys (home) and Cardiff (away).
Like Ulster, the southern province has opted for time on the training ground rather than flogging themselves in pre-season fixtures. To our mind, three is the perfect number but Van Graan and whoever exactly was calling the shots at pre-McFarland Ulster have opted for two.
With the likes of Conor Murray, Peter O’Mahony, CJ Stander and Keith Earls all not expected back until late September, it was heartening for Munster fans to see some of the wider squad members start off well against London Irish. Dan Goggin is back fit again, Mike Sherry made quite the impact and Darren Sweetnam looked sharp.
Mike Haley and Arno Botha should be good to go from that opening game against Cheetahs but, due to their Ireland commitments over the summer, Joey Carbery and Tadhg Beirne may not appear until that home tie against Ospreys on September 14.
Beirne was over in Glasgow’s Celtic Park – home of the 2018/19 final next May – to pick up his Player of the Season award from the last campaign out (when he was with Scarlets) and help preview the new league. His capture has given van Graan flexibility at second row and back row and a man who is a demon for turnovers. Opposition hookers will be quaking about throwing to a lineout with Beirne and O’Mahony lurking.
All eyes will be on Joey Carbery when he finally steps out in Munster red. There is little doubting the Ireland international’s class and bravery, but his goal-kicking is not yet something a team will rely on.
It will be interesting to see if he gets a run at the added scoring task, especially as Munster have two goal-kicking No.9s (Murray and James Hart) and Rory Scannell, who is handy in front of the placed ball. If he gets a run of decent games, and moments, Munster should be well set for a run in the league and Champions Cup. This is a huge season for Carbery and he will be ruthlessly and relentlessly targeted.
One senior squad signing that may have gone under the radar could be a real find. When we say ‘find’, we mean a player Munster found and discarded only to find again.
Neil Cronin had a cracker of a season in Division 1A of the Ulster Bank League. The scrum-half is the younger brother of Leinster’s Sean Cronin and had a stint at the Munster academy before drifting back to his club and taking on a new form of professionalism, as a school teacher.
Such was his league form that Munster brought him in on a short-term basis. They were impressed enough to offer him a senior contract and he will provide competition to Duncan Williams and Hart to back Murray up. Munster have been exposed here on a few crucial occasions in the past few seasons so Cronin’s progress will be monitored closely.
Of all the PRO14 sides, Munster look best placed to challenge Leinster for the title at Celtic Park next year. Below is their starting XV with their four big summer signings included and it looks pretty formidable.
In reserve, that leaves the likes of Jaco Taute, Chris Cloete, Stephen Archer, Tommy O’Donnell, James Cronin, Niall Scannell, Billy Holland, James Hart, Duncan Williams, JJ Hanrahan, Ian Keatley, Alex Wootton, Sammy Arnold, Darren Sweetnam, Neil Cronin, Dan Goggin and more.
Jack O’Donoghue, Chris Farrell and Tyler Bleyendaal will all hope to feed back into the squad later in the season after rehabbing from long-term and, in the Kiwi’s case, persistent, niggling injuries.
Munster’s big downfall last season was squad depth that was shown up with a number of big names were injured. Smart acquisitions and decent prospects – including Shane Daly and Calvin Nash – coming through from the academy see them in decent nick. They look stronger this time out even though Simon Zebo, Gerbrandt Grobler and Robin Copeland have all left.
The October 6 clash between Munster and Leinster will not decide the destination of the PRO14 title but it should show us where the men in red really are.
Leinster start as favourites, and rightly so, but Munster are next best placed to end a wait for silverware that has already stretched far too long.
