Campbell wants wounded Reds to return to traditional ways

Ollie Campbell believes Munster can create another Heineken Cup upset by beating Harlequins at the Stoop on Sunday.

Following a poor RaboDirect Pro12 campaign, highlighted by record defeat away to Glasgow last weekend, the former Ireland and Lions outhalf admitted Munster are vulnerable.

However, he insists Harlequins boss Conor O’Shea will not even countenance a measure of over-confidence from within his squad; neither does he think O’Shea should allow his players make assumptions about Munster.

“I think it is a massive, massive, challenge for Munster but I have absolutely no doubt they can and will rise to the challenge; Munster have the Heineken Cup pedigree like very few other sides have.

“Since the start of the tournament they are a different animal when they go into it. They obviously have had a disappointment in the Pro12 season, I think their confidence may well have been knocked by what happened in Glasgow on Friday night but on the flip side it could also have a hugely galvanising effect on them as well.

“There is nothing like that to concentrate the minds on what’s ahead and I would imagine this week in the Munster camp will be a week like no other before, that they’re fighting for their pride, fighting for everything that Munster has stood for over the last sort of decade and more.”

The return of Paul O’Connell and possibly Simon Zebo and the focus of veteran Ronan O’Gara could be further reasons why Munster might cause a shock result in London, according to Campbell.

“Suddenly, Munster have O’Connell back. He has matches behind him and there’s nothing to add in to the Paul O’Connell story. If you wanted anyone of note going into a match like this it is O’Connell and that’s bound to give Munster a huge boost.

“Maybe it is time also for Munster on Sunday to return to traditional ways. Maybe they should go back to what Munster have traditionally done so well. Nobody does it better than they do and it’s a tight pitch so the opportunity is there for them to do that.”

And Campbell is not alone in thinking there will be a Munster backlash. Former hooker Frankie Sheahan believes there will be a response to the Glasgow defeat this weekend.

“That scoreline will hurt a lot of lads and I’m sure they can’t wait to get out there and rectify it. It is in the Munster DNA to go in as underdog and win games against the odds. This is a Munster team who are fiercely proud and have a great tradition and to concede 51 points at any time is pretty brutal,” said Sheahan, who made 153 appearances for Munster.

“There will be a fair bit of soul-searching this week. In a way it is set up perfectly for them. They have had their butts kicked and not much is expected. But there has to be a response.

“That score of 51-24 is a pretty brutal scoreline. But, to be fair, it really doesn’t tell the story of the way the game went and Munster were not as bad as that scoreline suggest. It was actually a fantastic game in the first half.

“Both sides threw caution to the wind and it was a great game of rugby. But the wheels really came off from a Munster point of view in the last quarter in particular. Glasgow got three runaway tries during the course of the game and towards the end of the match they got one or two as well.”