Stander eager to stay and join Munster legends

CJ Stander wants to stay at Munster well beyond his current contract in a bid to make a similar impact on the province as Doug Howlett.

The South African-born back row is set to start at No.8 for Munster in their make or break Champions Cup clash at Clermont Auvergne on Sunday and his statement of intent will be a welcome boost to morale after a difficult week in which rising fly-half star JJ Hanrahan has been linked with a move away to Northampton next summer.

Stander, 24, has arguably been Munster’s player of the campaign so far in this, his third season since joining from the Blue Bulls. He becomes Irish eligible next November with his current deal set to run until the following summer in 2016, and in an exclusive interview to published in tomorrow’s Irish Examiner Sport, he talks about wanting to extend his stay and make his mark on the province he now calls home, emulating former All Black wing Howlett, who became a Heineken Cup-winning hero and is now a Munster corporate ambassador.

“I’m enjoying Munster, it’s going well and this is where I want to stay and hopefully they’ll sign me again after 2016. I’ll have to put my best foot forward to get that organised,” Stander said.

“A guy like Dougie, he’s a legend. I saw him last weekend and he’s great guy.

“I don’t want to look too far ahead but if I can mark in rugby and for Munster, it would be great. Rugby’s a game I love and I’d like to push it out there, so people know it’s a great sport and it would be great to make a mark with Munster.

“The back row with Munster has always been competitive. Before Robin Copeland arrived, we already had Chucken (James Coughlan) and Paddy Butler and Sean Dougall and all those guys. This year with Copes arriving, it’s even more competitive but the back three of me, Tommy (O’Donnell) and Peter (O’Mahony) is going great so far.

“I just want to play the best I can every week, week in, week out and you have to keep having good days to stay in the team for the next week. That’s good, that keeps me on my toes, because I know if I miss a tackle or have a bad carry, then it will be someone else in the next week.”

Munster face a daunting task on Sunday at Clermont as they seek to rebound from a first European defeat to a French side at Thomond Park last Saturday. The size of the challenge is magnified by the fact no team has won there in Europe since Sale in 2008 but Stander said: “We’re not looking to be the first team to win there since 2008, that’s the first time I’ve heard that.

“For us, this is the second half of this two-week contest, we need to win this. It’s going to be difficult and it’s going to be tough but I think if we can play to our potential, go 100% and cut out mistakes and silly errors then it’s going to be a great game down there. We always want to win games but it would be great to get a win there.”