Munster need to convert chances into tries says attack coach Mike Prendergast

CHILLY: Munster attack coach Mike Prendergast during training. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie

Munster’s Ireland hopefuls have been urged to press their Six Nations selection claims in the white heat of Champions Cup battle against Saracens this Saturday with Mike Prendergast desperate for them to start converting chances into tries.

The failure to take opportunities created has been a consistent theme during a rollercoaster season and was in full focus last time out when Munster fell 28-7 to their derby rivals Leinster on home soil in Limerick on December 27.

Attack coach Prendergast pointed to seven gilt-edged chances from five metres out alone that went begging in that URC defeat as he previewed this weekend’s return to Thomond Park for a must-win pool fixture against old rivals who will come to Ireland on the back of a 35-26 league victory over Bristol that has lifted them into third place in the English Premiership.

And in urging his players to be more clinical he reminded them of the potential individual benefits of a strong performance this Saturday, with Ireland’s interim head coach Simon Easterby set to name his squad four days later for next month’s opening two Guinness Six Nations rounds.

“We as a club want as many players in green jerseys as we can but it’s not something we’d speak about the week of a Champions Cup game,” Prendergast said on Tuesday.

“I think guys individually will want to put in a performance for Munster first of all. Second of all, what it does because it’s on the big stage it does put you out there and put you under pressure to see what you can do against a big English team.

“So what a great opportunity for our players, one for their own club but two, for further honours potentially.”

Scoring tries with more efficiency in a winning Munster performance will clearly advance players’ prospects of selection for the 2025 championship and atone for Leinster’s victory at Thomond Park a fortnight ago.

A frustrated attack coach highlighted two lost lineouts and three tap penalties in the first half alone against the league leaders, all from five metres out and also brought up the chastening defeat in the corresponding fixture at Croke Park in October, saying “we didn't pull the trigger when we needed to”.

As he reflected on his two and half seasons developing the Munster attack he added: “I think probably our growth has been our ability to create and where we need to get better is really finish off those opportunities, especially close to that line, which is something that has probably caught us in the last couple of months.

“As you could see against Leinster, whether it be that tap penalty or lineout or through our pick-and-goes through our forwards or picking the right moment of pulling the ball out for our backs to pull the trigger.

“That’s probably the area we know we still need to work on, but in terms of creativity and line breaks, I think we’re in the top three or four for line breaks in the competitions in Europe so there’s plenty of good there.

“I remember coming in our first year speaking about our framework and how we’d add to it and tweak as we’d go along, and I think our short kicking game - and you could see it against Leinster a couple of times when we created things but didn’t capitalise on them - is something that’s coming on, or out kicking through our frame work.

“So, in terms of how it’s evolved, I think there’s been plenty of aspects that have improved and the big part of it is, I won’t say having that ruthless finish to it, but when they present themselves we’ve got to take those opportunities.

“I think if you look back even over this season, you look at a top team like Leinster and it’s credit to their defence and the pressure they put you under, but if you look at the opportunities in the first game in Croke Park and the game a week and a half ago, you’re talking about a lot of moments five metres out.

“That’s the area we need to keep driving for… it goes back to being able to really get on top of those moments when those opportunities occur because over the last two months we've actually come up against a lot of teams with a high line speed down in South Africa, Leinster and it will happen this weekend against Saracens as well.

"So it takes a lot to break them down, technically, tactically, everything, and we have been doing that. Now we need to finish it.”