Holley tips Munster to retain crown
Holley doesn’t believe there’s a team out there to deny the holders another year of glory — he reckons they should end up with the two major northern hemisphere trophies on offer to European clubs.
A disappointed Holley didn’t hold back when asked about Munster’s prospects: “I expect them to go on and win it. I think we played the Heineken Cup winners there.
“I think they’ll be very difficult to beat — even on the road they’re very good. Right across the park they have quality, and possess a lot of things that we are quite envious about.”
Holley described Munster as the full Monty: “Yes, they’re the whole package, they have a forward unit that completely gels, they’re well led, but in fact they have leaders right through the team.”
The Welshman praised the way Munster have recruited, using a mixture of quality home-grown players and hand-picked quality from overseas.
Noting the influence a player like Doug Howlett had brought to the team, Holley also paid tribute to Paul Warwick.
“That guy has been immense in recent times, he certainly was today. He adds a new dimension through his positional play, his trickiness, and his bloody drop goals.
“Then, you’ve got the added bonus of having Ronan O’Gara. His goal-kicking is special, he either wins matches or puts them out of reach. Quite superb.”
Holley admitted he couldn’t quite explain how Ospreys went from being competitive a few weeks ago to capitulating in such a fashion in their biggest game of the year.
“I don’t know. The only thing I can say is that today we were taught a lot of lessons and came second best in every facet of the game.
“We went into this quarter-final with huge hopes. We prepared the best that we could. Whenever we play Munster, it’s normally close, but it was never like that today.
“I just think we got a lot to learn in terms of our culture, our values, and our support. We’re still quite young and developing as an entity but there are no excuses.
“Munster were right up for this game; at the breakdown area, where they’re extremely clinical, we were taught a lesson again as we were at the Liberty (Stadium) a few weeks ago. Alan Quinlan was fantastic, he brings so much to that team — turning over possession is part of his make-up, brilliant player.”
He got no argument from forwards coach Jonathon Humphreys, who described the intensity of Munster’s play as “fantastic”.
“They bring this unbelievable intensity to the game,” he said. “It’s brilliant to see that they can bring that, and live the values that others talk freely about but don’t live.
“We can only aspire to doing the same some day.”
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