Prendergast calls for cool heads on 'massive' night for Munster

Thomond Park will say farewell to some home favourites on Friday night. 

COOL HEADS: Munster will need cool heads and calm temperaments at Thomond Park on Friday night if they are to keep their season alive in the white-hot intensity of their make-or-break URC derby with Ulster. Pic: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy

Munster will need cool heads and calm temperaments at Thomond Park on Friday night if they are to keep their season alive in the white-hot intensity of their make-or-break URC derby with Ulster.

Mike Prendergast has seen the province’s bid for the end of season play-offs stutter at precisely the wrong moment as the hangover from last month’s Champions Cup quarter-final exit at Bordeaux-Begles has carried over into lacklustre URC performances and back-to-back league defeats to the Bulls and Cardiff.

The poor run of form has left Munster outside the top eight in the standings with two regular season games remaining, albeit level on points with eighth-placed Benetton, and on the outside looking in on the finishing spots that provide progression not only to the knockout rounds but into the 2025-26 Champions Cup.

In Ulster they face an interprovincial rival visiting Limerick in similarly desperate straits, a further three points and three places behind their Irish rivals, all of which points to a tense evening at Thomond Park, rather than the celebratory send-off that soon-to-depart veterans Stephen Archer, Conor Murray and Peter O’Mahony might have envisaged for their last hurrahs at the iconic stadium.

Attack coach Prendergast is advocating that his players embrace the situation, while keeping emotions in check in order for Munster to get the best out of themselves and play somewhere close to the potential he knows they are capable of reaching.

“Absolutely, it’s a challenge … you can see the good people coming out,” Prendergast said, “I spoke to the players about that this morning and that’s something that I look forward to.

“I think the players are 100 per cent, the staff too… It’s just about winning this game. Home advantage is a comfort, but we did lose at home to the Bulls and we were a bit off it.

“But for the three lads to be involved for the weekend, try and give them what they deserve in what could be potentially their last game (at Thomond) is a big bonus, to play in front of our home crowd.

“I’m sure the people of Limerick, Cork, all round will get in behind as much as they can and get behind, one: the team and, two: the players who are finishing up.” 

Having the clarity to execute skills and make the right decisions is, Prendergast said, “massively important”.

“Defence, probably more so in attack, having the calmness and coolness when opportunities arise, to make sure you take them.

“It’s an exciting game to look forward to, it’s challenging for everybody and that’s top-end, professional sport.

“We’re in the scenario we don’t want to be. We’d prefer to be qualified. But you want to see players and staff stand up and get this right this week, really go after it.” 

Archer and O’Mahony return to the starting line-up as two of five changes to the XV which kicked off the 26-21 defeat at Cardiff a fortnight ago, while Murray is named on a bench as one of only two backline replacements.

Jean Kleyn, John Hodnett and Diarmuid Kilgallen also return to the frontline while Thaakir Abrahams switches from wing to full-back in the absence of Mike Haley.

They are all welcome returns and Prendergast has seen their impact on training in terms of competitiveness for matchday selection.

“It’s like two years ago, one player was injured towards the end of the season when we went down to South Africa and went on a run.

“The competition, you can see it in training, it drives everything. Everyone wants to play in these games.

“It’s the same for Ulster, they’ve players back and they’ve got competition, that drives performances.” 

Richie Murphy’s visitors are also looking to rebound as they bid to reach the play-offs and secure top-flight Champions Cup rugby for next season. Captain Ian Henderson returns from a hamstring injury to the second row alongside Cormac Izuchukwu, while wing Rob Baloucoune has recovered from his hamstring issue sustained against the Stormers on March 28 and Michael Lowry has been cleared to start at full-back following a concussion against Leinster on April 19.

“We won’t hide away from it. It’s a huge game,” Prendergast said.

“Small bit of an added incentive into it, three huge players potentially playing their last game at Thomond Park… You’d love to see them get a good send-off.

“But you’re playing against an Ulster team who have a pep in their step… they’re getting guys back and you can see their game starting to evolve as well.

“It’s an interpro game, you forget that at times, there’s so much on the line for it. Massive game.” 

MUNSTER: T Abrahams; C Nash, T Farrell, A Nankivell, D Kilgallen; J Crowley, C Casey; M Milne, N Scannell, S Archer; J Kleyn, T Beirne - captain; P O'Mahony, J Hodnett, G Coombes.

Replacements: L Barron, J Wycherley, J Ryan, F Wycherley, T Ahern, C Murray, S O'Brien, A Kendellen ULSTER: M Lowry; R Baloucoune, J Postlethwaite, S McCloskey, J Stockdale, J Murphy, N Doak; A Warwick, R Herring, S Wilson, I Henderson - captain, C Izuchukwu; M Rea, N Timoney, J McNabney Replacements: T Stewart, C Reid, T O’Toole, A O’Connor, D McCann, D Shanahan, S Moore, W Kok 

Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)