Duncan Casey: Munster need everything onside at The Rec - including some good old grudge

You can’t argue with what Van Graan has achieved since the move to Bath - they were a basket case when he arrived but have gone from strength to strength since

YOU AGAIN: Munster head coach Clayton McMillan with Bath Head of Rugby Johann van Graan during a pre-season friendly in September. Pic: INPHO/Dan Sheridan

What a difference a year makes. As we looked ahead to the first round of action in last year’s Champions Cup, Munster were a team in disarray. After losing four of their opening six games and suffering back-to-back drubbings on the road in South Africa, head coach Graham Rowntree had been unceremoniously sacked in a development that shocked the rugby world and generated column inches for weeks thereafter.

The rollercoaster continued and culminated in a down-to-the-wire scramble to climb up the table and secure qualification for top level European rugby this season. The campaign was characterised by inconsistency, leaky defending and occasional disaster at the lineout. With the loss of decades of experience in the likes of Archer, O’Mahoney, Murray and Kilcoyne, this season could have started one of two ways - a continuation of the volatility of the year before, or a clean slate.