Denis Leamy: 'I think Connacht genuinely feel that any time they play Munster they can beat Munster'

It's been a season with a long injury list for Munster but as the business end of the season is upon us they have a healthy crop of players to select from.

Sat, 11 May, 2024 - 11:40

Simon Lewis

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since Munster and Connacht last met on New Year’s Day. It is fair to say neither the elements in Galway nor fate were working in Munster’s favour that day as they left the Sportsground with a rain-soaked 22-9 defeat and an ever-increasing injury list.

Like the current weather, things look a lot rosier now for last season’s URC champions as they prepare to welcome their interprovincial rivals to Thomond Park on Saturday (5:15pm) with both provinces looking to consolidate their positions in the race for end of season play-off berths.

Two wins from their last six outings have put Connacht into sixth place and nestled among the top eight play-off-qualifying positions while Munster’s back-to-back victories at altitude in South Africa in the last two rounds have made it six wins from six since that January 1 loss to today’s opponents. It has also put them within reach of a top-two finish and favourites for a top-four placing if they can continue their strong form to the end of the regular season.

Yet memories of a dark day at the Sportsground are not easily discarded and Denis Leamy this week acknowledged that derby encounter represented a low point in Munster’s 2023-24 campaign.

“Yeah, it was tough,” the defence coach said. “We came into the game and we hadn’t had a great week around injuries. It was a tough week, we had injuries coming in and then we lost a few bodies in the training session before and then in the game we lost Oli (Jager) and we lost Jack (O’Donoghue) and it became a big challenge.

“We struggled around our set-piece, it was a desperate night and Connacht were just that bit better in the arm wrestle. They were just that bit better around the set-piece and in the contacts and it was that kind of a night and it was just one of those ones you have to take on the chin and fair play to Connacht, they were better than us and we had to take the inevitable shellacking afterwards. But on you go. You take it and you move on but understanding that at times there are things out of your control.

“We’ve had to be patient around getting players back and having players at our disposal giving us selection headaches and thankfully we’re probably at that point now. So hopefully we’re in a bit of a stronger position.”

Those returning players can prove critical for Munster in these final three games, with Edinburgh away to follow next Friday before the regular-season finale at home to Ulster on June 1. Add to tighthead prop Jager and back-rower O’Donoghue’s comeback the inclusion of RG Snyman after a bout of pneumonia was added to his four-year catalogue of woes with the province and Munster look a much more complete outfit from numbers one to 23.

They will be needed if the pattern of each province winning their home games against the other in the last five meetings is to be continued in Limerick and there is nothing to indicate complacency in the Munster camp, despite it being Connacht’s turn currently to feel the injury pinch having ruled out JJ Hanrahan, Denis Buckley and Cian Prendergast after a costly win over the Dragons last time out in addition to the continuing absence of Mack Hansen.

“Any time we play Connacht you’ve got to understand the derby nature of it, the physical confrontation that’s going to be involved,” Leamy said.

“I think Connacht genuinely feel that any time they play Munster they can beat Munster. Certainly we feel the same when we play them but there’s nothing between the sides. The last six games, we’ve been 50/50 in terms of sharing the spoils so that probably tells you a lot about it.”

While the westerners come to terms with the collateral damage inflicted in victory at Rodney Parade, flanker John Hodnett remains Munster’s only recent injury concern, missing out for a second game in succession with a leg injury.

Double-World Cup-winning South Africa lock Snyman is set for his first Thomond Park start on Saturday while fly-half Jack Crowley will earn his 50th Munster cap. That the Ireland number 10 made his senior debut for his home province five months after the Springbok made the first of his 15 appearances to date tells you all you need to know about the misfortune heaped upon the popular, Leinster-bound Snyman in his four years in red.

While the Bok lock finally pulls on a starting jersey alongside captain Tadhg Beirne in the Munster second row of an unchanged forward pack from the bonus-point victory at the Lions, head coach Graham Rowntree has tweaked his backline, bringing Alex Nankivell back at outside centre as Antoine Frisch moves to the bench as Seán O’Brien continues at number 12. The other alteration sees a rotation at scrum-half with the in-form Conor Murray making way for Craig Casey, who comes off the bench to wear the number nine jersey.

With former Munsterman Hanrahan ruled out for at least the rest of the campaign as he prepares for surgery on an injured ACL, Connacht boss Pete Wilkins can at least recall captain Jack Carty to fly-half, while Paul Boyle comes off the bench to fill in at No.8 for Prendergast (thumb), as does loosehead prop Peter Dooley for Buckley (shoulder).

There are two further changes from the line-up which accounted for the Dragons on April 27, Oisin Dowling in at lock for Gavin Thornbury and a fit-again Byron Ralston replacing John Porch as Ireland wing Hansen continues to rehab the shoulder he dislocated against Munster on January 1.

MUNSTER: S Zebo; C Nash, A Nankivell, S O'Brien, S Daly; J Crowley, C Casey; J Loughman, N Scannell, S Archer; RG Snyman, T Beirne - captain; P O'Mahony, A Kendellen, J O'Donoghue.

Replacements: E Clarke, M Donnelly, O Jager, T Ahern, G Coombes, C Murray, J Carbery, A Frisch

CONNACHT: T O’Halloran; S Jennings, T Farrell, B Aki, B Ralston; J Carty - captain, M Devine; P Dooley, D Heffernan – captain, F Bealham; O Dowling, G Thornbury; S Hurley-Langton, C Oliver, P Boyle.

Replacements: D Tierney-Martin, J Duggan, J Aungier, N Murray, S Jansen, C Blade, C Forde, J Butler

Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)