Hurley: Munster have reasons to be fearful

MUNSTER are keeping their feet firmly on the ground despite pushing onwards and upwards in the quest for Heineken Cup knockout qualification.

Three games down, and Munster have taken two major scalps away from home. With the next two qualification games to take place at Thomond Park, the immediate future is very much in their own hands.

Full-back Denis Hurley is delighted with more than Munster’s unbeaten run; injuries to others and his own rich vein of form have meant he is back in the starting line-up. But he expects the Scarlets to come to Limerick with all guns blazing.

Reflecting on Saturday’s 17-14 win at Parc Y Scarlets, Hurley hailed the success as being even more important than the last-gasp victory away to Castres. What was so pleasing?

“First off, I suppose, was getting the four points. Winning away from home in this competition is so important and to do that in Llanelli, particularly so. I think maybe the win over Castres didn’t rate as it should have because we were playing the game in Toulouse, rather than in Castres itself. But last week we were playing in their (Scarlets) ground in front of their biggest crowd for a pool game and came away with the win.

“We did it after a desperate start where we gave them the lead and the initiative. So to come back from that was another side of it that was very pleasing. The try we scored was probably as good a try as you’ll see, and again I think it was a positive response to those who say we lack a cutting edge out wide. Defences are very difficult to break down in the game. They (Scarlets) tend to be better organised than maybe in the past, but the passage of play that led to our try, I think, showed what we can do when the passes stick.”

However, if Hurley is optimistic about Munster’s potential, there is no danger of complacency on Sunday.

“Not the slightest,” he insists, “if you look back at the video of last week’s game, you appreciate how close it was. We won by three points and besides the few missed kicks there was that period near the end that had us clinging on for dear life. So no, we know we have to even up our performance from last week if we’re to get the result we need.

“They showed enough last week for us to realise that this one will be as close again this week. They’ve been here (Thomond Park) before in front of a full house so there’ll be no surprises there for them. They’ll know exactly what to expect.”

With a sniff of qualification in the air, Hurley knows defeat would be a major setback. “This is a hugely competitive pool; even after three losses, Northampton mathematically are not out of it. That’s why a win is so important. Scarlets will know that they’ve to win to keep themselves in contention and they’ll believe they can. The inclusion of George North will give them an added boost; another reason why this is such a huge game. We can’t take anything for granted.”