Duncan Casey: Earls and Murray criticism will sting but might spark necessary Munster reflection
It was a slap in the face for former players of Conor Murray and Keith Earls’s stature to be so vocally critical of the province. Pic: Diarmuid Greene/Sportsfile
A season rarely goes by without some sort of drama arriving at Munster’s door. Last year was arguably the most chaotic and challenging in the professional era, with a number of ups, downs, twists and turns that would make you more nauseous than the waltzers down in Tramore. It’s been over a decade since there was headline-grabbing controversy in preseason (when emailgate happened) but ahead of Clayton McMillan’s first campaign in charge, last week saw the focus shift to the contents of Conor Murray’s autobiography.
The criticism of Munster that appears in the book has been pored over in detail at this point, so I won’t go through it again. Suffice to say, he doesn’t hold back. While I obviously can’t comment on his personal relationships with Graham Rowntree and others, it’s difficult to argue with any of the general points he makes. There has undoubtedly been a short-sightedness and absence of long-term strategic thinking in various decisions that were made over the years and there’s no denying this has had an impact on the field.
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