O’Connell: Things will get cranky

PAUL O’CONNELL is certain of two salient points as Munster prepare for Saturday’s Heineken Cup game against Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens.

One, that the atmosphere will be “cranky” at University of Limerick training today and Musgrave Park on Thursday. And he also predicts he won’t have too much work to do as captain to get the team up to the required tempo following the dismal performance against Leinster at the RDS on Saturday.

O’Connell watched most of that game from the sidelines before being introduced midway through the second half at a point when there was little or nothing he could do to redress the situation. But he also had a perfect view of Munster’s many shortcomings and acknowledges the need for a vastly different mindset and attitude going into the Heineken Cup matches against Northampton and Treviso over the next couple of weeks.