Ahern and Munster 'under no illusions' as to Saracens' power game 

As Tom Ahern looks towards his first appearance against these storied opponents, the 24-year-old lock/flanker is not expecting much deviation from type in the nature of the battle ahead

EXPECTANT: Munster's Tom Ahern after the Leinster loss. Picture: Bryan Keane/Inpho

It has been a little over five years since Munster last locked horns with Saracens, back in the days when home and away pool meetings in a six-game pool stage brought added tension to Champions Cup qualification.

The competition format may be different now, with four pool matches, each against a different side, and rugby’s laws are considerably different, while the personnel of both teams has changed markedly since those December 2019 head-to-heads when each side claimed a hard-fought home victory and Saracens edged the aggregate score from the two fixtures 18-16 thanks to a 15-6 win in north London.

Yet some things remain as constant as Jamie George’s presence at hooker for the English Premiership giants and Munster’s Tom Ahern is expecting familiar themes to emerge from this Saturday’s big night out at Thomond Park.

Richard Wigglesworth and Owen Farrell may have stopped pulling Saracens’ strings from the half-back positions and the Vunipola brothers Mako and Billy no longer backbone their pack but the likes of George, club captain Maro Itoje and Ben Earl remain, as does the ethos that delivered three European titles between 2016-19.

So as Ahern looks towards his first appearance against these storied opponents, the 24-year-old lock/flanker is not expecting too much of a deviation from type in the nature of the battle ahead.

“I'm looking forward to it,” Ahern said. “What I remember from when I was younger is that they were always niggly games.

"Saracens are a hugely competitive team and a successful team and I think when you have two teams that like to have a bite off each other there's always going to be niggle in the game.

“We're under no illusions. They've got a powerful pack with a good few internationals in there, very good players and I think it's their power game, to be honest, their maul, when they get into the scoring zone 10 metres out they have big ball carriers.

"So I think we're looking at it as a big challenge as a pack but it's something we're looking forward to.” 

Munster's Tom Ahern warems up during Munster training. Picture: James Crombie/Inpho

Ahern, who this week had a new two-year contract extension announced by Munster which will extend his service at his home province to the summer of 2027, recognised his team have still not found consistency this season, from game-to-game and across an 80-minute performance, not least last time out in a disappointing 28-7 home URC defeat to arch enemies Leinster.

Yet despite that and the off-field turbulence that now sees head of rugby operations Ian Costello in temporary charge as interim head coach, Ireland women’s forwards coach Alex Codling in a consultancy role at the province seeks permanent replacements for the departed Graham Rowntree and Andi Kyriacou, the Munster forward insisted the mood in the camp remains positive.

"Obviously we were all disappointed after the result the last day and we reviewed that game, took the learnings from it, and we're back into two games in Europe where we've got to get some points on the board in order to progress. It's hugely exciting and I think all the group are looking forward to the next couple of weeks."

These next two weeks, with a trip to English champions Northampton Saints to follow seven days after the Saracens clash, represent a pivotal moment in Munster’s season and recent European experience has not been pleasurable for the province.

Ahern made his Champions Cup debut in the first game of a two-legged 2021-22 Round of 16 clash at Exeter and the second-leg win at home to the Chiefs is his only knockout victory in the competition. 

A “home” quarter-final loss to Toulouse at Aviva Stadium that season has been followed by successive R16 defeats on the road, at the Sharks in Durban and last season’s exit in Northampton.

The Waterford native agreed that the return has not been good enough.

"100 percent. We want to be getting further in competitions, and in those big games - the Round of 16 - it's the fine margins. Being more clinical, being tighter in defence. We're heading in the right direction and hopefully we can write the wrongs and go better this year.

"We need a result at home and need to do it for the fans as well, building momentum. We're all looking forward to the challenge on Saturday."