Larkham heaps praise on rising star JJ Hanrahan

Senior coach Stephen Larkham. Picture: ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

If anyone knows what it takes to be a quality playmaker, it's surely Stephen Larkham — and the Australian’s endorsement of JJ Hanrahan as the man to guide to Munster into, and through, the Guinness PRO14 play-offs speaks volumes.

The 28-year-old Kerryman has been entrusted with the starting role at fly-half in the continuing absence of injured Ireland star Joey Carbery, and just as he did when wearing the number 10 jersey before the Covid-19 pandemic, Hanrahan put in an impressive shift on Munster’s return to action post-lockdown last Saturday with an assured performance in the 27-25 PRO14 defeat to Leinster at Aviva Stadium.

With a return trip to Dublin set for this Sunday and a must-win derby with Connacht to secure progress out of Conference B and into a semi-final berth behind leaders Edinburgh, Larkham is confident that Hanrahan can continue to get the best out of himself and his team-mates in the pivotal position.

“Firstly, the understanding of the game plan, the work that he does off the field to get himself right and to understand what he needs to move the team around the paddock, but also to make sure he’s making the right decisions on the field,” the Munster senior coach and World Cup-winning fly-half said of Hanrahan.

“He’s got a very good skillset. His catch, pass, kick is very good — he’s got a very good turn of speed and he’s an extremely accurate goalkicker. I think he’s one of the best goalkickers, the way that he trains with his goalkicking, and then the way that he handles pressure on the field is something that I don’t see in a lot of players.”

The former Brumbies head coach and Australia attack coach is still in his first season with Munster, but has got a much better feel for the players in his charge after the enforced six-month break — and Hanrahan’s leadership qualities have impressed him.

“I never really saw him play prior to him going to Northampton (for two seasons in 2015), or even when he was at Northampton, but I know the player that he is now, and he definitely has maturity in this team and he does a lot of prep off the field, so that he can lead the players on the field and he does that exceptionally well," he said.

“Decision-making is something that he also works very hard on, we work on that together and make sure that he sees the pictures and he’s constantly reviewing training and games to see whether he can make a better decision or whether he made the right decisions.”

Larkham’s review of the Munster attack that he has been brought in by head coach Johann van Graan to expand is a work in progress, but showed good signs of development last weekend with Conor Murray and Hanrahan at the controls.

“I think we had really good continuity on a number of passages there. Like every team, we try to play as quickly as possible before the defence is set, and I think they were a number of those passages that occurred throughout the game.

“In particular, I think the last passage, the last 20 minutes of the game, there were some really good phases that we put together there. There were some really good recycles of the ball, that’s what you talk about JJ getting on the front foot, having time, and making the right decision there. I think that’s what was pleasing for me, the ability to hold the ball and to play with the relative speed that we had.”

The senior coach was also pleased with the contribution from Munster’s new-look midfield as South African World Cup-winning debutant Damian de Allende, who combined with Saturday's Man of the Match Chris Farrell in a head-to-head with Leinster’s Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose.

"I thought Damian was very good. He just has time on the ball, so good players generally have time,” said Larkham. “He has the ability to buy time, so if the rushing defence comes at him, he knows how to control his feet. He had very good hands on the weekend.

"From a defensive point of view, we got opened up a couple of times, but if you look at Damian's defensive involvement in the breakdown particularly, it was exceptional — he put a lot of pressure on the opposition breakdown, so he adds a number of elements to our game.

"In terms of Chris, it was definitely one of the best games I've seen Chris play. Getting his hands on the ball was key, trying to give him time on the ball as well. He's obviously a big man, but he's got really good footwork and good power through contact as well. It was the number of touches he got as well.,

"You try to plan for getting your best players ball in hand throughout the game, but sometimes it doesn't eventuate. It eventuated for Chris on the weekend, and I think that's how we saw the quality of player he is. 

"It's about finding that balance between the two, Damian with his silky skills and Chris with his good ball-carrying skills."