‘They’re up there with the best’
Wallace doesn’t subscribe to the suggestion Toulon, with a huge budget, will field a team of mercenaries. Rather, he described the visitors as a quality team that will take some beating.
“We look at them as being a star-studded talent, a team going very well at the moment. It will take a huge performance to beat them; we have home advantage and, as always, a great crowd behind us, but that is not going to win it for us.
“In terms of quality, Toulon are up there with the best; you only have to look at the names and the experience – their back row for instance with (George) Smith and (Juan) Fernandez Lobbe, (Jonny) Wilkinson and (Paul) Sackey out in the backs. They have household names and are playing very well.”
But challenges such as this are nothing new for Munster, said Wallace. “It’s the same every year when we face up to strong teams, but it’s probably the reason why we so look forward to the Heineken Cup. It’s great to play against the best teams with the best players, that’s what we love about it.”
The French throw up a different challenge and a lot of it comes through physicality. “It’s usually a confrontation in the pack although they (French teams) have a slightly different approach to the way they play it; they like to have the ball in hand a bit more and offload so you sometimes tend to get quicker and more open games as well. I suppose we’ll have to slow them down.”
At 34, Wallace is into the veteran class, but it’s not a subject he is keen to discuss. In any event, anyone watching last week’s European opener against London Irish, when he came on as substitute, would recognise his impact on Munster’s performance was huge.
Even though a recurring back complaint restricted his pre-season activity, Wallace feels he is ready for road again and was disappointed at losing out in the initial team selection last weekend.
Yet, he understood the dilemma faced by head coach Tony McGahan, saying: “The guys in the back row have been playing very well and I didn’t have too much rugby through pre-season. I was probably a bit rusty so I needed time to get back into it. It was great to get 50 minutes at the weekend and sharpen up a bit.”
The experience was a hugely positive personal experience despite Munster’s defeat. Yesterday he described his back ailment as all but forgotten. “It’s good, I’m not even thinking about it so that’s a good sign.”
Additionally, he managed to make an impact on the match and the result as well. His devastating midfield break in the closing stages not only enhanced his reputation as a broken-field runner, but also helped pave the way for Munster’s last-gasp score that secured a losing bonus point.
There will be some things Munster will need to change this weekend; for instance Wallace believes his team will need to be much more efficient with their ball control. He argued against a suggestion Munster tried to run ball for the sake of it at the Madjeski Stadium but did concede they didn’t run it as effectively as they should have.
“We made a lot of handling errors at important times and let the opposition off the hook when we were close to converting pressure into points. We have looked this week at the need to get into the right areas and also to attack the right areas. That’s going to be very important.”
Of crucial importance will be to secure a victory; the prospect of gaining a winning bonus point won’t even enter his head. No team in this particular group can afford to lose two games, especially two on the bounce at the start of a campaign. Wallace knows that and conceded: “There is nothing different this year from other years; you simply have to win your home games.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
