Munster go 'old school' to build mental toughness ahead of new season

Defence coach Denis Leamy said there will be "subtle changes" to how Munster play this season. 

Tadhg Beirne is expected to return to action for Munster in the URC game against Leinster on October 18. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie

Another new head coach, another new season but Munster are taking an “old-school” approach to life under Clayton McMillan as the province prepares for their URC season opener away to Scarlets this weekend.

McMillan has already talked about being a “disruptor” if that’s what is needed to bring Munster to the level required under his stewardship and defence coach Denis Leamy has given a window into the back-to-basics-approach adopted so far.

“The boys this year, we went a little bit old school [in pre-season]. There's been a lot of stuff around boxing and hill runs and swimming and rowing, just to build up a little bit of our mental toughness. We've had some very good rugby sessions.

“Everyone is enjoying the influence of our new coaching team, Clayton and the way he delivers stuff as well. So there's a huge amount of excitement, and everyone's really, really looking forward to getting going.“ 

Munster will be looking to improve massively on last year’s league performance when they scraped into the playoffs and almost missed out on qualifying for a Champions Cup spot in the wake of head coach Graham Rowntree’s departure so early in that campaign.

The question is what type of Munster will fans see under the Kiwi who has brought in Martyn Vercoe as team manager and Brad Mayo as head of athletic performance to work with existing coaches such as Leamy and Mike Prendergast.

“There will be little subtle changes,” said Leamy. “Yeah, there will. And there's definitely things that we're focusing on, going back to a little bit of… 

“Not that we ever really went away, but there's been a big focus on traditional values and being as tough around our set piece as we can possibly be, bringing that real grit around the contact area, and then maybe playing with a little bit more pragmatism at times in our own half and stuff like that.

“Without ever going away from trying to play the game in the right way, and being of an attacking nature. People will see subtle little changes in the way we're looking to play.”

Leamy also confirmed that the plan is for Tadhg Beirne to be back in harness for the away game against Leinster which falls in week four of the season. McMillan will give an update on the fitness and injury situation when he sits down with the media later in the week.