Kidney happy to have full squad for tough away test
Yes, there are bumps and bruises to Barry Murphy, David Wallace and John Kelly, but they were included in a squad of 25 named yesterday by coach Declan Kidney.
Kidney admitted that Connacht had put his side to the pin of their collar in last week’s Magner’s League game.
“The Connacht game was tough; they asked a lot of questions of us in defence. We had to stack up there, because for long periods there was little or nothing between the sides.”
But he regarded it as a good warm-up game for Europe. “There were some aspects of the game that we got a lot of practice at. And there are other aspects that we must get more practice at so as not to be under the same type of pressure next week.”
Kidney is well used to having to mix and match his squad throughout the season, particularly having to do without many of his front line players when international duty calls.
“It’s the nature of the northern hemisphere season; it’s probably as difficult at international level as interprovincial level, but it’s something we have to cope with, and generally the players do cope quite well. Last week was the first week back for a lot of them, and it was natural that it would take a bit of time to adjust back to different patterns. I’m confident they have the ability to do so, and we should benefit from the time we have spent together in the last week.”
He certainly hopes so, given Munster’s dismal European record against the Welsh side. Though the previous encounters have been in the dim distant past, Cardiff lead the European battle with Munster 3-0.
Of more recent vintage is the Magners League game, which ended in another win for Cardiff. He observed: “Cardiff have come on a bit even since that night; they’ve got big men in key positions around the park and they’re not conceding many points. The fact that Ben Blair is taking the place kicks now is taking pressure off the out-half (Nick) Robinson, whose game has come on a tonne.
“They’ve beaten Bourgoin away and lost narrowly to Leicester despite being down a man in the closing minutes. I think they’ll back themselves against us, and we certainly will give them all the respect they deserve.
“What we learned against them in the first match in September is that they create lots of chances. They scored three tries, but created up to seven good chances. I was very proud of our performance that night given that we had quite a few youngsters in the team, but I was also very aware that Cardiff are a team that have to be shown total respect,” he said.
Kidney is in no doubt either that Cardiff will have huge support on Sunday. Admitting that the Welsh regions have had difficulty in getting that public support, Kidney believes it’s changing for the better. “I think we saw the potential within Wales by the number of people who turned up to the Leicester game; you get the fans excited and it can only grow.
“I think we have had an advantage in Ireland in that the provincial/regional system was in place for over 100 years. The Welsh system had to change and change doesn’t always come easily.
“Even with a system in place here, there were some problems in the early days; the AIL was going really well and the difficulty was getting the Con, Garryowen, Shannon and Young Munster guys into the same gym. Let’s put it this way, there were teething problems in the first year or two.”
Captain Paul O’Connell needed no reminding about Munster’s poor record against Cardiff or about the trouble they have had with other Welsh teams over the years.
“Cardiff will be dangerous opponents for a number of reasons, not least the fear that if they lose they could be out of Europe. It’s a massive game for them.
“They have lots of internationals playing; the experience is there, and with home advantage it’s bound to weigh things up in their favour.
“Martyn Williams is in top form and Mike Phillips has been a great signing for them; they’ve got class all over the pitch, so we’re under no illusions about how difficult it’s going to be.”
O’Connell said Cardiff were right to keep the game in the Arms Park, despite pressure to move next door to the Millennium Stadium.
“I wouldn’t blame them, because we wouldn’t want to play teams in any other place than Thomond Park.”
MUNSTER SQUAD: S. Payne, C. Cullen, J. Kelly, A. Horgan, T. Halstead, L. Mafi, B. Murphy, I. Dowling, R. O’Gara, J. Manning, T. O’Leary, P. Stringer, D. Hurley, F. Pucciariello, J. Hayes, A. Kyriacou, F. Sheahan, C. Wyatt, P. O’Connell, D. O’Callaghan, A. Quinlan, J. O’Sullivan, T. McGann, D. Leamy, D. Wallace.
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