Chris Farrell relishing de Allende combo

Chris Farrell is also relishing the opportunity to benefit from Damian de Allende’s decision-making and skills. Picture: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

It may have all the makings of a powerhouse Munster midfield, the combination of two 6ft 3ins centres with the proportionate amount of bulk, but Chris Farrell is also relishing the opportunity to benefit from Damian de Allende’s decision-making and skills.

Johann van Graan will at noon today reveal his starting line-up for the resumption of the Guinness PRO14 campaign with Munster heading up to Dublin for tomorrow’s derby clash with Leinster behind closed doors at Aviva Stadium (7.35pm). 

The head coach’s selection is expected feature starting debuts for his newly-acquired South African World Cup-winning pair de Allende and lock RG Snyman, and it will not just be the second-row member of the Springboks’ famed Bomb Squad that will bring plenty of firepower to the Munster arsenal.

De Allende is renowned for his explosiveness at inside centre and the prospect of him linking up with Farrell tomorrow against Leinster duo Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose is a midfield match-up to savour.

Ireland centre Farrell is certainly looking forward to playing alongside the former Stormer, two years his senior at 28, and not just to see De Allende’s physicality.

“You can just see his quality straight away. He is someone who comes from top, top pedigree. He is really calm on the ball. I think that's something I can learn,” Farrell said.

“He gives himself time. He gives himself space and he makes decision-making quite easy. He looks really calm. He is one of those players who buys himself time – as a centre that is really important.

“He is quite a skillful ball-playing centre as well, despite a perception that he may be a trucker. He certainly is not. He has got a hell of a lot of skills.

“He is an all-round quality player. He has every skill that you could think of. He's a good kicker, he’s skillful at making decisions, he's got good passing, he's a really, really strong ball carrier.

“No matter who it is, whether it's him, Rory (Scannell), or Dan Goggin, they are quality as well. But these lads, RG and Damian, are coming from a background of being World Cup winners. There is an aura about them. They're going to add in some way. They are those kinds of people.” 

The belief is that de Allende is a good fit for a nascent attacking shape that has had extra time to evolve under senior coach Stephen Larkham. The unforeseen six-month hiatus due to Covid-19 has allowed the former Australian great to get more time with frontline Munster players, including Farrell, who had spent the first period of Larkham’s time with the province on Ireland duty.

“We have definitely seen changes. Even if it's not changes, we have been exposed to a lot more.

“A lot of us didn't get the opportunity to work over prolonged periods going into games and now a lot of us are just way more aware of what we are trying to achieve and what Steve is trying to achieve.

“That's important. It's something that we are pretty comfortable with at the minute. We have had a lot of time on it and hopefully we will see it in the next couple of weeks.” 

The reality of this shortened and rearranged season means Munster will have to hit the ground running tomorrow night against the defending champions, unbeaten this season, if they are to join Leinster in the PRO14 semi-finals three weeks from now. A second interprovincial derby, against Connacht a week on Sunday is the only other game left in the regular season to secure qualification from Conference B with Munster lying in second, two points behind leaders Edinburgh and eight clear of Scarlets.

“We are going straight into the middle of it. There won't be any hiding place at the Aviva. It will be very intense from the get-go,” Farrell said.

“Look, we just need to be on the ball. Any time we come up against Leinster, whether they have one eye on a semi-final or not, you have to be on top of your game.

“They have got a really competitive squad, no matter who plays. It's always going to be one of those games that we want to win.

“We want to get one up on our closest counterparts every single time. Leinster are only down the road. They're an Irish team. We are competing against people we know from the international scene. You always want to get one up on them.” 

Beating Leinster also raises the likelihood of overtaking Edinburgh, who will play Scottish rivals Glasgow Warriors back to back at Murrayfield over the next two weekends, and sealing top spot in Conference B, thereby avoiding a third straight PRO14 semi-final against Leo Cullen’s side.

“It's a weird time in that we could play four games and potentially come away with silverware. It's a great opportunity, I think. Everyone is on the same level with no warm-up games. We are straight into the mix of it and that's exciting.

“We definitely expect to potentially be in the mix for silverware and to come away with silverware. We are 100 per cent embracing the pressure of doing that. We put more pressure on ourselves than anybody else. I genuinely do think we have a great chance of doing that.

“The time we have been allowed because of this Covid situation, I think has benefitted us quite well.”