O’Donnell issues another Red alert

It seems a little early to be manning the barricades and demanding your comrades go once more into the breach but with Saracens coming to Thomond Park on Friday night, that is exactly what Munster need to do to keep their Champions Cup campaign on track.

Having played their ‘get out of jail card’ on the opening day of Pool 1, qualifying with their last-ditch victory at Sale Sharks last Saturday, Munster are back on home soil needing more than just outrageous fortune on their side as English giants and last year’s Heineken Cup runners-up Saracens come calling six days after scoring a bonus-point win over Clermont Auvergne. So back row Tommy O’Donnell believes it will take a strong early statement from Munster to banish memories of last weekend’s chaotic first-half performance against Sale, to get Thomond Park rocking and put Saracens on the back foot.

“(That) really gets the crowd into it,” O’Donnell said. “That’s what they come to see rugby games, big breaks and big tackles and, of course, tries. And they know they are going to get it from us, it is a sell-out, the atmosphere will be there. I think it is going back to the classic, it’s Munster, it’s Thomond Park on an (October) night, it is the kind of stuff I used to watch Munster at when I was younger so I’m really looking forward to it.” Of course Saracens may have a small say in the matter and O’Donnell is fully up to speed with the threats the London side possess in every area of their team and all facets of their play; in other words, a group of players who will not give up a 23-7 half-time lead the way Sale did last Saturday as Munster ran out 27-26 winners.