Munster must dominate possession, says Williams
While Munster have put the demand of scoring a hatful of tries against Gloucester to the back of their minds as much as possible, the skipper is also conscious that a fine day might be needed to give Munster the only chance of a lifeline. A wet day, a greasy surface and ball will make the job more difficult, but he is still conscious that possession will be the key.
Referring to the opening game of the tournament in Kingsholm, he said: “Our ball retention was appalling in that game at Gloucester in round one. The possession count must have been at least 60-40 in Gloucester's favour - if not more.
“We will have a huge amount of work to do this week, especially working on ways to score tries in order to win the game. We must dominate the play and make them do the tackling.”
The Munster skipper is banking on the electric atmosphere at Thomond Park to inspire his side: “Not many teams come away from Gloucester with a win, but their away record is not anything as good, so we'll be hoping that will work in our favour.
In the overall context Williams said: “It's disappointing that we're in this situation but these things happen. We didn't play well enough to beat Perpignan. We just have to create as many opportunities as possible to score against Gloucester and hope it will be enough for us to get through to the next phase.”
Williams still has a positive feeling and goes back to the days when he lined out with ACT (Australian Capital Territories) just three years ago: “We went to play Auckland, then one of the favourites to win the Super 12 competition, knowing that we had to score four tries to qualify for the next stage. We were losing by 16 points at half time but scored 22 without reply in the second half and got the tries we needed to see us through.
“Nothing in rugby would surprise me. We are in this game for the long haul. Things go right and things go wrong but, as a player, I would never say never.”
Despite the fact that Gloucester coach Nigel Melville and his staff have issued Video/DVD evidence of Munster's strengths and weaknesses to each and every one of the squad in the last few days - for viewing at home - Williams isn't worried.
“We have done our own share of research into the way Gloucester play the game and we do have a plan to combat them.
“They may feel they know how to stop us from winning. They may feel they know how to stop us from playing and advance themselves.
“Rugby, however, is a unique game in that surprises are always in store. I would like to think that we have a few surprises up our sleeve.
“This was a very tough group and it is no shame that we lost a couple of games away, no matter how disappointed we felt about losing.
“Now we are back at home. Gloucester and Perpignan each have great records on their own grounds, but so have we. I wasn't around when Munster pulled off magnificent wins at either Thomond or Musgrave Parks but I have got to believe it is possible to do so again.”
“Of course, there is always the danger of falling into the “home” trap and assuming that everything will be fine.
“That won't happen with this Munster team. We know our backs are against the wall. We know what is required to keep us in this competition and nothing will be left to chance. But this campaign is certainly not over yet. All is not lost yet and I would like to stress that to our great supporters.
“Hopefully we can give them something to shout about.”
Munster will start with the same team defeated by Perpignan last week.
Ronan O'Gara, Mick O'Driscoll and Jeremy Staunton all came through a training session yesterday without any difficulty. The main worries concern Killian Keane and Eddie Halvey, both of whom were ill for yesterday's training stint.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
