Just five training sessions into his tenure as Ireland attack coach, Mike Catt is nevertheless expecting “some good stuff” from Andy Farrell’s team against Scotland in Dublin tomorrow.

When Rory Best blamed Joe Schmidt for taking too much control in 2019 — he inadvertently heaped pressure on the class of 2020. With the Kiwi out of the loop now that excuse no longer exists.

Munster’s new chief executive has told the Irish Examiner the team’s disappointing run of form should not detract from the “extremely bright” future he believes is awaiting the province under head coach Johann van Graan.

A run of two wins from their last eight games has increased the focus on the squad and management for all the wrong reasons.

It says much about Munster’s standing in rugby country that their current state of ill health is consuming more column inches and debate than Leinster’s relentless march towards further glories.

There is no disguising the links that have bonded Munster and Racing 92 since Ronan O’Gara began his coaching journey in Paris in 2013. Donnacha Ryan, Simon Zebo, and Mike Prendergast have since found their way to the Top 14 outfit while the relationship between the European rivals has also been strengthened on a deeper emotional level by the tragic and sudden death of Anthony Foley in the city i

For all the positive reviews of Munster’s adventurous attacking innovations under new senior coach Stephen Larkham, the lack of tries in December has underlined the reality that the province’s brave new world remains very much a work in progress.

For a coach still only weeks into his Munster tenure, Graham Rowntree’s affinity with his new surroundings is clear and obvious. Yet the forwards coach also knows that while his connection to the province and the players he works with has been immediate, the task of getting it and them to where they need to be will require patience and a lot more time.

There’s not much worse than old-timers waxing lyrical about how things were better in their day.

Stephen Larkham is still finding his feet in Munster but he could hardly have picked a more difficult time to come on board given the disruption caused by the World Cup.

Shane Daly knows the damage that his good friend Conor Fitzgerald can inflict on teams — he has never forgiven him for landing a near-impossible penalty to break their hearts in a Munster Schools Senior Cup semi-final.

Stephen Larkham says he knew all about how special the Irish interprovincial games are long before he arrived on these shores, and while the provinces are set to be shorn of their World Cup players for most of the Christmas period, he’s looking forward to the derby games.

Meanwhile, the extent of the groin injury which forced team captain Peter O’Mahony to withdraw before the match has not been established.

Rory Scannell has seen the foundations of a more adventurous Munster attack being laid under the guidance of Stephen Larkham.

Munster have reached one objective in this Heineken Champions Cup campaign by beating Saracens for the first time in five years last Saturday.

One man’s setback appears to be an opportunity for a couple of his team-mates as Johnny Sexton’s likely absence from the start of the Six Nations seems to have opened the door for a pair of Munster stars to take centre-stage with Ireland in the coming weeks.

Ask any Munster supporter their thoughts on the Saracens personnel coming to Thomond Park this evening and they will take the matchday squad named by Mark McCall yesterday in a heartbeat. Ask the Munster coaching group the same question and they will not be taking anything for granted.

Munster have been playing with a much more varied gameplan this season, backing their skills in areas where previously more traditional, conservative traits

Graham Rowntree believes Saracens will be an even more dangerous prospect due to their off-field problems when they visit Munster tomorrow for the sold-out Heineken Champions Cup clash at Thomond Park.

It is with some relief that JJ Hanrahan chooses not to bring his impressive footwork into his dealings with the media.

Mark McCall believes the addition of Stephen Larkham and Graham Rowntree to the Munster coaching team has made them more formidable opponents

Friday night in Cork is set to be a major landmark for Stephen Archer, but he won’t be thinking about it too much.

Watching Munster on Saturday was both frustrating and exciting. The excitement came in a performance that gave glimpses of the talent and potential that lies in a squad loving life and enjoying its work under the province’s new coaching ticket.

It is not just Racing 92 who possess the talents to unlock opposition defences. Not if you are talking to Stephen Larkham at any rate.

In the throes of the action, I’ll be like every other fan, intrigued by Racing 92’s Heineken Cup visit to Thomond Park tomorrow.

Munster are hoping JJ Hanrahan and Rhys Marshall successfully come through this week’s two main training sessions to have a chance of making their comebacks against Racing 92 at Thomond Park on Saturday.

Not for the first time, Europe has proved the perfect antidote for pining Irish players looking for solace after the woes of an underwhelming World Cup campaign.

The clock ticked past 83 minutes, Munster kicked for the corner on the last play of the game, with the backs and forwards uniting to drive the ball over the line for the bonus-point win. I had to double-check the TV replay to make sure it wasn’t O’Gara kicking to the five-metre line, Sheahan throwing to O’Connell in the lineout, or Jason Holland joining the maul to drive it over the line.

This may be a pool of death Munster are facing into as the 25th Heineken Champions Cup campaign gets underway this weekend but the fixture schedule has at least handed Johann van Graan’s side the most palatable of introductions, albeit away, with a trip to off-form Ospreys.

Much like Munster’s frustrations in Europe these past three seasons, Mike Haley is hoping his best is yet to come.

Anyone who has ever over-indulged on a night out knows that the extent of the hangover isn’t always directly related to the number of drinks downed before the head hits the pillow.

Peter O’Mahony is happy to be home and eager to embrace a much-changed Munster set-up than the one he left behind to go to the World Cup.

Simon Lewis Rory Scannell embarks on his fifth European campaign this weekend confident that the value new attack guru Stephen Larkham can add to Munster’s arsenal could be the missing ingredient to

“I am enjoying the environment here, the challenge here and I have no plans to leave at this stage."

Munster supporters took more interest than most when the news broke that Saracens were being docked 35 Premiership points and hit with a £5.3million fine because of financial irregularities.

Stephen Larkham earned himself a deserved reputation as one of the most stylish rugby players of his generation when representing Australia on 102 occasions.

Munster’s South African influence looks like deepening still further with reports that World Cup winners — centre Damian de Allende and lock RG Snyman — are to join the province

Nick McCarthy knew he would have a battle on his hands for game-time when he left Leinster for Munster during the season, but it’s a task he is fired-up for as he becomes the latest to make the journey south from the arch-rivals.

Munster coach Johann van Graan vows the province will ‘look after’ their shattered Irish players when they return from their World Cup heartbreak.

It mightn’t have been a performance to set the pulses racing but Munster still got the new campaign off to a five-try, bonus point start by hammering the hapless Dragons - even without a dozen of their World Cup-tied players on duty in Japan.

That breathless Wales-Australia World Cup classic this morning had enough about it to turn Saturday’s Shizuoka shocker into the realm of a bad dream.

Young players of massive potential will get a chance to make their mark for Munster over the coming months.

The Munster Head Coach was speaking at the Irish Examiner Rugby World Cup Tournament Preview last Monday.

Follow live updates below or across social media, with expert analysis and insight from our panel of Irish Examiner columnists Ronan O'Gara and Donal Lenihan, who are joined on stage by Munster Rugby's Johann van Graan and Stephen Larkham.