‘I’ll strive to leave a bit of myself behind with Munster’

IF anything is likely to put a Munster player in bad humour it’s defeat to Leinster. It’s fair to assume, then, that a 30-0 loss in the RDS with a man sent off is likely to conjure up a pretty black cloud of crankiness over training the following week.

Ask Doug Howlett if the sessions, ahead of their opening Heineken Cup fixture against Northampton, have had what is euphemistically described as an edge, and the answer is unequivocal.

“Yeah, it has. There weren’t many positives to take out of a game like that, but we put our heads down and got to work, concentrating on a good performance against Northampton. That’s a challenge in itself.”

There have been parallel challenges. John Hayes’ red card could have been a distraction, but Howlett says the man himself wouldn’t want that. He explained: “We’ve had no control over what happens there — it’s very disappointing for John, but he’d be the first to say ‘move on and get the job done’.”

Has it been a case, then, of simply putting the result away or sifting through the wreckage for anything that could be listed as a plus — the fact that Jean de Villiers has had a second game with his new team-mates, maybe?

“There’s been a bit of both — it’s probably a bit of a wake-up call going into this weekend and at least we’ve got a full squad to select from (the suspended Hayes apart), so competition is pretty hot for places.

“Jean is bedding in well now — speaking from my own experience the first few games aren’t easy, but Jean just has so much to offer, he’s only going to get better and better.”

Even in the aftermath of the demolition in the RDS, the sense of humour still lives among the men in red, says Howlett.

“They tell me Jean’s getting a bit of a working over up in Limerick, himself and Shaun Payne, they’re sticking together — they have to, because here nobody is spared!”

Howlett knows well, having been a target for the wits in the dressing-room on his arrival back in 2007. Now he’s fully acclimatised, nodding ruefully when reminded of his adopted Cork’s defeat in the All-Ireland SFC final (“very disappointing, just didn’t get the scores”) and recommending his favourite coffee stall at a local farmer’s market.

“We’re two years down the road now, so it’s not just me,” he says. “The whole family has settled in Ireland. And that obviously makes it a lot easier for me playing, knowing they’re happy.”

Enough of the past, recent or otherwise. The big winger warms to the future, and this evening in particular.

Munster travel to play one of the form teams in the Premiership this year, Northampton, who have lost just one game at home in Franklin’s Gardens in the last two years. To make it a little tastier for the New Zealander, he’ll be facing an old pal this weekend.

“At home they’ve got a proud record,” says Howlett. “They’ve been very good so far this year in the Premiership and they’ll take a lot of confidence from those performances before they face us.

“In terms of my own game I’ll probably be up against Bruce Reihana, a fellow New Zealander. We played together for the All Blacks a few years ago so it’ll be good to get reacquainted with each other.”

For all the disappointment of last May’s Heineken Cup semi-final, Munster still collected silverware last year in the shape of the Magners League. Howlett acknowledges the appeal of the European competition, however.

“Every time we take the field we’re proud and we don’t want to disappoint ourselves. There’s certainly an equal emphasis put on the two competitions but Heineken Cup weekends are special, and part of the reason is that they’re here and there throughout the season, and there’s time to build up to them. We almost got the whole thing right last year, so we’re carrying on from there.”

Other considerations this weekend include an innovation which may have passed some observers by — adidas have supplied a new ball for the Heineken Cup which players have been getting used to in training for the last few weeks.

“We’ve been training with the new ball, trying different things out to see how it goes. Certainly to receive and to kick it seems to have a little more distance to it, but in terms of handling it’s a lovely ball to handle, and good to play with generally. It’s a good ball — we’re not going to make excuses about it, certainly — and we’ve all trained with it and handled it. And every other team is in the same position, so it’s a level playing field.”

They’ve spoken in Munster before of the desire to emulate teams like Toulouse and Leicester, to win the Heineken Cup several times and establish themselves as a European superpower. Is that hunger still there, after two European titles? Howlett is emphatic.

“Of course it is. Speaking to the players that is something we all strive to achieve, to have something to leave behind us. It’s certainly something I’d like to achieve, to leave a bit of myself here with Munster. That feeling is certainly strong.”