Gloucester full of confidence as they send Munster warning
Gloucester are full of confidence having climbed into a clear lead at the top of the Zurich Championship and will perform this afternoon in front of a partisan, sell-out crowd of 11,500.
Only about 1,500 of that number will be supporting Munster who will line in out in their change strip of navy, red and white to avoid a clash of colours with Gloucester’s famous cherry and white. It appears the majority of Munster fans are waiting for later in the season before coming out in numbers and some 1,000 tickets remained unsold in Cork and Limerick and were returned to the host club.
Defeat for Alan Gaffney’s side wouldn’t be a disaster but it would certainly undermine confidence in the camp, especially as they must take on Perpignan at Thomond Park in a week’s time. Gloucester are novices in comparison when it comes to European football having only once previous competed in the tournament but they are understandably on a high having started the year so impressively.
They are captained by England’s Phil Vickery, now rated one of the finest tight head props in the game and a man sure to present Marcus Horan with a severe examination in their scrummaging battle. Vickery missed last week’s drubbing of Saracens so as to be fully fit for this encounter.
“The pressure is on us to do fantastic things in the Heineken Cup but the important thing is not allow the expectation to get to us”, he stressed. “This is going to be the closest thing to Test match rugby so we need to be a little more effective. Munster have a host of big game players. This is the big one alright. There was no way I wasn’t going to miss it”.
With Vickery sure to be a towering figure on the pitch and men like Nigel Melville and Dean Ryan masterminding affairs from the sideline, it can be taken as read that Gloucester will be fully ready for this mighty test. Ryan is noted for his intensity and near ruthlessness in search of victory and nobody at Kingsholm seems the slightest bit bothered that he actually never pulled on a jersey in the Heineken Cup.
“Munster are very good at playing a low risk game and that makes their error count very small,” he pointed out.
“They put an enormous amount of pressure on the other side and are very similar to Leicester in their big game strategy. You have to ask your players who play international rugby, your Vickerys, your Azams, to have an influence on the people around them. This is about playing a Gloucester brand of rugby at Test level.
“Europe is fantastic. Any competition you compete in, you want to be in there at the highest level and test yourself against the best as player and coach. Gloucester-Munster as an opener is unbelievable. You can feel a change from the league programme. This is a one-off feel. We came in here on Monday and everybody had a buzz about them. Personally, I want to test myself at the highest level and it’s about to start”.
Unlike Ryan, director of rugby Nigel Melville seemed to be a lot calmer as he surveyed the Kingsholm scene yesterday and spoke of his admiration for Munster centre Rob Henderson, an old friend from their days together at Wasps.
“He played in three cup finals and won two of them,” Melville recalled. “We worked together well and had good times together. He’s fun, he’s not your typical professional but I am a great admirer of his. Gloucester supporters will love his physicality because he is very direct and definitely the kind of player you would want in your side.”
In spite of their relative inexperience of European rugby, Gloucester are favourites this afternoon due to the fact that they are playing in front of their own fans and their fast start to the Zurich Premiership. They certainly have a lot of talent and if they can spread the ball quickly to livewire 19 year-old right winger Marcel Garvey then Munster and debutant Mossy Lawler could be in for a trying afternoon.
For coach Alan Gaffney, it promises to be an absolutely huge occasion. If his team comes out of this one with a win, then all the wheels are back on the wagon after the transitional developments of recent times.
“I’m delighted with our progress to date. We started from a very strong base thanks to Declan Kidney and Niall O’Donovan and I feel we’re now at a fairly advanced stage. The Celtic League has given us those vital competitive games and we have won at Stradey and the Gnoll and that gives us great confidence. I’ve been there and I have to say the crowd are fairly passionate so expect a warm reception”.
A tough test, to be sure, but I believe it’s one that Munster will pass with flying colours. It’s difficult to envisage any pack outplaying an eight containing so many great forwards while there is every prospect of Ronan O’Gara and Peter Stringer giving Munster a vital edge at half-back. Henry Paul at full-back for Gloucester could be a dangerman but given his recent arrival from the Rugby League ranks, he could also be something of a liability. Pressure is a word he may understand at 4.45 this afternoon.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
