Munster's healthy problems as Costello ponders whether to stick or twist

Interim head coach Ian Costello has been able to field the same starting 15 and eight replacements in consecutive matches for the first time all season. Now what?

FIT AGAIN: Munster's Diarmuid Barron at squad training in UL. Pic: Morgan Treacy, Inpho

It’s stick or twist time for the Munster management as they prepare to name their matchday squad for Saturday’s URC quarter-final at the Sharks.

Munster's place in the play-offs was booked courtesy of back-to-back bonus-point home wins over Ulster and Benetton in the final rounds of the regular season, a return to form based on consistency of selection with interim head coach Ian Costello able to field the same starting 15 and eight replacements in consecutive matches for the first time all season.

Never was that luxury more welcome with Munster in metaphorical knockout rugby mode and the prospect of no Champions Cup rugby next season a real possibility if the required top-eight finish was not nailed down.

Yet with actual win-or-go-home rugby now looming and a powerful Sharks side lying in wait on home turf at Kings Park in Durban, Costello and his assistants are faced with the question of whether to go again with that same, trusted 23, or pick a more tailored team for the first of what is hoped will be three play-off rounds.

Munster have all 23 of that matchday squad available after fly-half Jack Crowley and hooker Niall Scannell overcame knocks. And the 32-player squad which arrived in Durban on Tuesday afternoon has been boosted by the return of fit-again frontline front-rowers, hooker Diarmuid Barron and loosehead prop Jeremy Loughman.

That both absences had been impressively catered for by Leinster loanees and permanent summer arrivals Lee Barron, who replaced Scannell against Benetton, and loosehead Michael Milne, who has started the last three games, adds to this healthy conundrum.

“Selection is probably a mixture of a science and an art, isn’t it?”, Costello said. “As a coaching group we have long conversations, in-depth conversations. We consider so many different elements when it comes to selection.

“Cohesion is definitely one. There’s certain teams around the world that would put a huge emphasis and a huge focus on cohesion. We had cohesion the last two games, we were in a position to select the same 23, but that’s got to be right for the next game coming up.

“It’s that balance, again, between who’s been training well, who’s really fresh, who looks like they might add something for the game. And the game’s 23 people now, that’s the one thing for sure. We saw Bath over the weekend bring people off the bench to win a trophy and it’s worth considering how we use our 23 the best way we possibly can.

“That’s something we’ve been in a really good position to do with our squad being healthier. So it’s that balance of cohesion versus how we are feeling around how competitive guys are at the moment, and who could bring the most from the start and who could bring the most off the bench.

“It’s a fascinating tactical consideration that’s emerging across all big games at the moment.”