Munster must get mindset right for Glasgow clash, insists Nankivell 

Alex Nankivell of Munster on his way to scoring his side's second try during the United Rugby Championship match between Munster and Edinburgh. Pic: Tyler Miller/Sportsfile

Munster return to URC action at defending champions Glasgow Warriors this Friday night and will be looking to rebound from a chastening home loss to Edinburgh as they bid to stay alive in the hunt for an end of season play-off berth.

The 38-24 scoreline in defeat at Cork’s Virgin Media Park on February 28 tells only half the story as Munster were blitzed by a hungrier and sharper Edinburgh side in a one-sided first half which left the home team trailing 29-7 at half-time, the Scots having secured a try bonus point inside 39 minutes.

It was a big missed opportunity to improve their push for a top-four spot and home quarter-final berth for the June play-offs, but with six rounds of the regular season remaining, Munster now find themselves in a dog fight just to stay in the top eight positions which will deliver knockout rugby and Champions Cup qualification for next season.

A URC press release issued on Tuesday, headlined “Tightest-ever Race to the Eight is underway” emphasised what is at stake, and pointing out only four points separate the Lions in eighth position and Zebre Parma in 15th, with just eight points between the Italian side and fifth-placed Munster.

Alex Nankivell’s try-scoring performance on his comeback from injury against Edinburgh was one of the few brightspots for Munster that night and the former Maori All Blacks centre told the Irish Examiner wholesale improvements needed to be made from last time out if they were to bounce back with a win at second-placed Glasgow.

“Where it went wrong was everything we'd prided ourselves on, working hard, being physical in the collisions, our small details around our breakdown; all that kind of little stuff that's kind of not the flashy stuff, but we hold it in really high regard, doing that stuff really well.

“We were just looking back on it for the review and we were just off on that Friday night, and I think that's a bit of a mental thing. I didn’t personally but maybe there was a bit of a general theme of taking Edinburgh lightly after they lost to Zebre.

“So for us we just need to get back to those habits that drive our game, around the breakdown, around the collision, around working hard for one another and then just getting our mindsets right for what's going to be a hell of a game against Glasgow, who are an awesome side.

“They’ve got some awesome players and if they get bolstered by the Six Nations, they're going to be even stronger than they have been in even the last few weeks. So getting our mindset right and then off the back of that, if we can get that right it will flow into our collision and then we can play off the back of that.

“We’ve got a big block coming up with Glasgow and Connacht and then obviously Europe the following week.”