Gavin Coombes happy to put the team first as a finisher off the bench

For an elite sportsperson, accepting what has traditionally been viewed as a secondary role for the sake of the team is counter-intuitive but Coombes has learned to embrace the transition from starter to finisher.

Fri, 14 Jun, 2024 - 06:13

Simon Lewis

Whether it is stepping up as a collective with Munster or putting team before self, Gavin Coombes is ready for the challenge and the opportunities that presents at Thomond Park on Saturday.

Glasgow Warriors stand between Munster and a second URC Grand Final appearance in a row and following a string of testing exchanges between the sides over the past few years the back rower knows this weekend’s semi-final will require a significant team improvement on last Friday’s quarter-final win at home to the Ospreys.

Yet Coombes, 26, has also been asked by the Munster coaching staff to sacrifice his place in the starting line-up for the greater good in recent weeks, keeping his impact as hard carrying No.8 in reserve to make an impact off the bench as part of a cavalry of A-list replacements in the last half hour or so of four of the last six matches as the defending champions have marched to the top of the URC standings and now into the last four of the end of season play-offs.

It has proven an effective strategy from head coach Graham Rowntree and his assistants, Mike Prendergast, Andi Kyriacou and Denis Leamy, first implemented on the two-game tour of South Africa in April as Munster extended their winning run in the URC since a January 1 loss at Connacht with season-changing victories at altitude against both the Bulls and the Lions.

When the titleholders closed out an eighth bonus-point victory of a nine-game winning streak at home to Ulster on the final day of the regular season on June 1, Coombes was part of a four-man forward deployment also including Oli Jager, Tom Ahern and John Hodnett that with replacement fly-half Joey Carbery transformed the contest from an arm wrestle into a 29-24 win that secured first place and top seeding for Munster heading into the knockout stages. And there was no complaint about his redefined role in the matchday squad, prompted by the return from injury of Jack O’Donoghue, with whom he is currently sharing the No.8 jersey.

"In South Africa it was laid out to me that they needed something off the bench and I was happy to do that,” Coombes said. “Now it's taking it week on week and to be fair Jacksy came in and he did a great job over in South Africa so I can't complain.

"Whether I'm starting or he's starting I think it's about the performance for the team and I think either of us have done our job well when we’ve been there. So it’s definitely a different challenge and a different approach to the week but it’s something that hugely excited me the first time I did.

“When you’re watching a game from the sideline for the first 40 or 50 minutes, you can analyse it and see where you can come on and make an impact and that’s very exciting too.

“The whole squad has bought into it and it’s been really effective so far and our focus is to keep that up.”

“Everyone’s going to be annoyed aren’t they, when things change, but you get time to yourself and you think about things and it’s about the approach I can take towards what can I bring from the bench, what can I do in training to influence how we’re going to perform at the weekend.

“I think everyone that plays rugby wants to start and try and influence the game as much as they can but I sat down with Prendy and Leams and Kyri and Wig and we spoke about it and it was about how can I affect the game when I come on and where we might be when I come on, on the scoreboard or during games, and it’s exciting to be able to deliver something we planned during the week and for me it’s a huge opportunity to show the impact I can make off the bench as well, “So for me it was all about opportunity and putting the team’s best foot forward.”