CJ Stander: New coaches have moved Munster chess pieces

Munster have been playing with a much more varied gameplan this season, backing their skills in areas where previously more traditional, conservative traits

CJ Stander has experienced the pain of losing important European games to Saracens but he believes Munster are now much better equipped to defeat the defending champions when they visit Thomond Park tomorrow.

Two semi-final defeats in the past three seasons have exposed a gulf in class between the old foes as the Londoners have gone on to be crowned Heineken Champions Cup winners in both 2017 and 2019, but Stander thinks the additions of coaches Stephen Larkham and Graham Rowntree to Johann van Graan’s staff, and the confidence they have instilled in players to express themselves to their maximum potential, give Munster more than a fighting chance in tomorrow evening’s Pool 4 encounter.