O’Gara: Munster aiming for Test match level
The 2006 Champions have Wasps, Llanelli Scarlets and Clermont ASM for company in Pool Five and O’Gara admits that the fixtures computer was most unkind to the Irish side.
Said O’Gara: “We’re in a very difficult Pool. It is one that I would have preferred not to have been drawn in.
“It would have been nice to have avoided a couple of these teams at this early stage to allow us to catch our breath at the start. But with the likes of London Wasps, ASM Clermont Auvergne and the Scarlets in our Pool there is no chance of that.
“We have to be right from day one and any slip ups could mean we are under pressure. The quality of the competition improves year by year.
“I know that might sound like a cliché, but it is a simple, hard fact. We are setting ourselves up for Test match level rugby — starting this weekend.
“The Heineken Cup games, even at the Pool stages, are every bit as intense as the international arena. It may even be a question of there being greater pressure in this tournament because of the level of local support and passion.
“As far as we are concerned in Munster, we’d be pretty happy with where we are in our build-up to the opening Pool rounds.”
However he warned: “But we all know the challenge we face in Coventry is phenomenal.
“Wasps are a hugely-experienced and battle-hardened side with a fantastic record in the competition. I think all our World Cup players have settled back into the Munster squad pretty well and the win at the weekend was just the tonic we needed.”
London Wasps have already sold more than 20,000 tickets for Saturday’s shoot-out in Coventry and O’Gara is also looking forward to notching up another new venue on his Heineken Cup travel CV.
“I don’t believe for one minute that Wasps would have chosen to take us to The Ricoh Stadium if they thought it was going to put their side at a disadvantage. After all, they played and won there in the semi-final last season,” added O’Gara.
“Besides that, they are one of the most professional sides in club rugby and the venue will not act against them. As they showed against us at Lansdowne Road in the semi-final of 2004, the composition of the crowd won’t deter them.
“That said, I think we will give a good account of ourselves both on and off the field and it is going to be a cracking game.”
O’Gara needs 59 points to extend his tournament record to 900 and he warmed-up for the clash of the last two Heineken Cup winners by scoring 14 points on his return from World Cup action as Munster beat Edinburgh 19-16 in the Magners League.
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