Johann van Graan only focussed on Sharks but contract speculation looms large

This will be the fourth full season in which van Graan will try to break Munster's trophy drought, dating back to 2011

Munster head coach Johann van Graan. Picture: INPHO/Morgan Treacy

If Johann van Graan was in any doubt about the close scrutiny he will receive in this, the final season of his current contract, yesterday’s eve-of-campaign media session will have swiftly erased any lingering question marks in the mind of Munster’s head coach.

Four days out from the opening game of the inaugural United Rugby Championship, a home clash with South Africa’s Cell C Sharks in front of supporters returning to Thomond Park for a first competitive fixture since February 2020, the inquiries came unseasonably early for a man who has enough on his plate trying to hit the ground running in a make or break campaign for a province still
without a trophy since 2011.