Captain set to lead Munster’s rescue mission

Team selection may still be up in the air following Munster’s embarrassing defeat to Edinburgh but whoever faces Gloucester at Thomond Park on Saturday, head coach Rob Penney will send out a side desperate to atone for that shock Heineken Cup defeat.

Changes are a-coming with Ireland and Lions wing Simon Zebo definitely ruled out of Saturday evening’s game having limped off at Edinburgh with what was initially termed an ankle injury but has now been identified as a problem with the left foot.

Captain Peter O’Mahony is set to return, though, having been rested last weekend following his head injury in the win against Leinster the previous week.

Last weekend’s 29-23 loss at Murrayfield replicated a first-day defeat at Racing Metro at the start of 2012-13 campaign. Although Munster went on to squeeze through to the quarter-finals as a best runner-up and then came within minutes of reaching the final, Penney would rather not have seen his players with their backs against the wall so soon.

Penney has already seen a reaction from his squad and Gloucester will not be surprised to learn that Munster will be spitting blood right from the first whistle although the head coach appeared wounded that it needed a miserable outing in the Scottish capital for that attitude to surface.

“Certainly there is an element of determination there this week which is what you’d expect,” Penney said. “It’s just such a shame that your ego needs to be damaged for you to get yourself back into those zones on the back of what was quite a good performance against Leinster.

“Just to take a couple of steps back against Edinburgh, who were determined and as I said all last week, ... they are a quality side, they have got some quality players and we underestimate them at our peril, which was the case possibly. So looking forward, there is a touch more determination in the group this week.”

Penney must wrestle with the option of bringing in new players to pick up the pieces of last Saturday’s error-strewn horror show or challenge the men who underperformed to sort out the mess they created for themselves. The New Zealander hinted there may be a touch of both those elements to his selection for the Gloucester game with many players who featured for Munster A, including former Leinster wing Andrew Conway, staking claims in the British & Irish Cup win over Stirling County last Saturday in Bandon, as well in-form back Johne Murphy, who travelled to Edinburgh as a reserve last weekend.

“A number of (Munster A) guys really put their hand up and made our job even more difficult,” said Penney.

“The reality is that those players are quality players and they’ve got a depth of experience and a lot of ability and a lot of talent that you are not going to cast aside on a whim. We have done some rotating up until now because we want to make sure we have got fresh legs and we want to make sure we have experience in crucial positions. So all of those elements, the ‘A’ fixture, the rotation policy that we’ve had a little bit of, form and the ability for us to put people back into the fight again straight away and say ‘fix it’ are all elements of the selection puzzle.

“Once we get through the nuts and bolts of the next 48 hours, it could be more than two, but there won’t be wholesale (changes).”

O’Mahony, whom Penney said had been “a big miss” against Edinburgh said Munster would need a big effort collectively this weekend.

“We need a team performance, a 15-man performance. We can’t be turning around looking to Keats or looking to Paulie or looking to Murs to have an exemplary performance. We need to perform as a team, as a 15. That is the most important thing this Saturday.”