No more box-kicks? Munster game plan to include a variety of different kicking strategies, says Patterson

Patterson was perfectly happy to play for Larkham and he insisted there was just as much freedom to showcase his talents under the Australian as there is under the framework being set out by former Munster number nine and Racing 92 attack coach Prendergast.

Fri, 23 Sep, 2022 - 06:40

Simon Lewis

Munster’s big guns may be back in red this Sunday when Graham Rowntree’s squad travels to the Dragons but it would be difficult to imagine Paddy Patterson taking a back seat following his fast start to the campaign.

In a contingent of scrum-halves that includes two current Ireland squad regulars Conor Murray and Craig Casey, chances are likely to come the way of the other nines in the group and Patterson started the BKT United Rugby Championship opener at Cardiff last Saturday with Neil Cronin coming off the bench.

That Munster failed to register a first-round victory at the Arms Park had little or nothing to do with Patterson’s efforts with the 20-13 defeat the result of defensive flaws and unforced errors elsewhere on the field.

Asked for his own assessment of his performance the scrum-half who switched, initially on loan in January 2021, from the Leinster academy to Munster’s awarded himself a seven out of 10 mark but the very fact he was put up in front of the media three days later and five days out from a return trip to south Wales suggests his coaches were inclined to give him an even higher mark ahead of this afternoon’s team announcement for Rodney Parade.

Murray and Casey are fit and available for duty this weekend as are all of Munster’s Irish internationals who toured New Zealand during the summer and in a truncated season that has Rowntree’s men already playing catch-up following that opening loss, the pressure is on to get up and running with a first win at the earliest opportunity.

Yet Patterson, now a full-time senior professional following his graduation from the academy this summer, is already earning his keep.

A livewire behind his forward pack, the 23-year-old impressed in pre-season against both Gloucester and London Irish and again at Cardiff last weekend and has adapted well to the new requirements his position demands following a change of attack coach from Stephen Larkham to Mike Prendergast.

“Steve used to say us, 'if there's a gap there, take it'. I thought I had a good bit of freedom last year as well, to be honest,” Patterson said. “I was still able to express myself, it was probably just a slightly different style of play, it's a bit more contestable kicking, really.” Munster are also training and looking to play at a faster tempo in addition to a reduction in box-kicking from their nines, as Patterson explained the differences between a Larkham-style attack and Prendergast’s.

"In the first week they said, 'this is what we're doing' so all the half-backs - all the backs, really - have been practising all the different kinds of kicks that you want.

"It's probably just trying to play with speed, like having the options to play out of our own area and sort of different types of kicks, cross-field kicks and little chips and stuff, rather than the contestable box-kicking.”

Andrew Conway has already explained how Prendergast had been showing the back-three players plenty of clips of his former Racing charge Juan Imhoff in trying to explain what he wants from them and Patterson said the half-backs have been getting similar footage to consume from the new attack coach.

"Yeah, he loves walking around with his laptop, it's glued to him, like! He's obsessed with rugby, that's what I can take from him.

"But he's just always going around, giving us different scenarios and giving us tips throughout the day. He never turns it off.”

If that makes the Munster backs better players and the attack more potent there will be no complaints but the young scrum-half has an even more basic and immediate objective.

"Just looking to play as much as possible,” Patterson said. “Obviously there's going to be more opportunities when Craig and Murr are in Ireland camp, but if I get an opportunity when they're here as well, I'll jump at it.”