Pride and pedigree - Dallaglio backs Munster to pack European surprise
Lawrence Dallaglio: Reds' trip to Bath an acid test. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland
It is just a hunch, but Lawrence Dallaglio has a suspicion Munster could spring a surprise in this season’s Champions Cup.
The problem is, England’s 2003 World Cup winner reckons Munster’s opening pool opponents on the road this Saturday evening are one of the main contenders for the European club crown.
Either way, the trip to Bath represents an acid test for the credentials of both Johann van Graan’s English champions and Clayton McMillan’s rebooted Reds, Dallaglio said in his guise as a pundit and co-commentator on Premier Sports’ Champions Cup coverage this season.
The former Wasps captain who lifted the Heineken Cup in 2004 and 2007 as the then-Londoners dovetailed with Munster’s European successes in 2006 and 2008, believes the Irish province look rejuvenated under their new head coach and during an on-stage question and answer session at last week’s Champions Cup season launch tipped them as one of this campaign’s dark horses.
“Munster probably of the Irish sides have got their mojo back, they seem to be on a bit of a roll,” Dallaglio said in the company of fellow analysts Chris Robshaw and John Barclay.
“They’ve got great pedigree in the competition and they’re probably sick of hearing Leinster getting to final after final so I wouldn’t be surprised if they have a much stronger campaign.”
Speaking later to the Irish Examiner, Dallaglio further explained his reasoning.
“I'm not bigging up Munster, it's just nice to see them, everyone talks about Leinster quite rightly, and understandably so, but it's nice that there appears to be a dual challenge from Ireland this year because Munster, they've got a new set-up and it seems to have, you know, they're a sleeping giant, aren't they?
“They had their time in the European Cup when they were the dominant side, but that was a long time ago. And they've had little green shoots of recovery, but then Leinster just come and bulldoze them down again.
“So from what I can see in the URC they've got a good coaching set-up going on there and the players seem to be responding. And with (Craig) Casey and (Jack) Crowley and all these guys, they're not quite at the level that Leinster are yet in terms of the depth in their squad but they'll be a hard side to beat and I think a lot of teams would underestimate them. I quite fancy Munster.”
Dallaglio said Munster’s Round of 16 victory at La Rochelle under the management of interim head coach Ian Costello, can fuel belief in McMillan’s squad that they can go The Rec this weekend and claim some valuable away match points but he agreed it is an acid test for both teams at the outset of their European journeys in 2025-26.
“It is, and it's for both teams, really, because they'll look at La Rochelle last year and say, well, why can't we go there and win? And the thing about Munster is, they know at home they're going to be formidable, but they're one of these teams, even over the last decade or so, they're just hang in games. As Brian O'Driscoll used to tell me, they're like chewing gum, you know, you can't get rid of them.
“And then they either pop up with a result or they get themselves a losing bonus point or whatever, and then when it comes to the qualification, more often than not, they've got an incredible record in their qualifying. Maybe latterly not necessarily kicking on but to go to the home of the English champions is the test, isn't it, really?
“Bath are the team that's probably quite fancied to do quite well in the competition but they'll go there with optimism and their own expectations, and if they get something out of the game, we've seen with the format and the way the point system's allocated, that you've got to get something out of every game. It doesn't have to always be the five points, but if you get something out of it, they've got plenty of games at home to collect enough points to qualify.”
Dallaglio has previous with Bath having tipped van Graan’s side to go far in last season’s Champions Cup, only to see the west country side flop in their first two pool games, though they regrouped sufficiently to win the second tier Challenge Cup to add to their Premiership title.
Their storyline under the former Munster boss has the former No.8 convinced Bath are still one of the teams to beat in Europe this time around.
“I tipped them last year, and they sort of fluffed their lines a little bit by losing to La Rochelle, and then they're careless with that performance over in Italy (against Benetton) but I do fancy that if it's going to be an English club that's going to progress and maybe even possibly challenge to win it, they have the depth and the quality.
“It's the depth in the tight five when you play these big French sides and they bring on three internationals in the front row, and then, you know, Bath have got enough quality to match it and there's no shortage of twinkle toes outside as well.
“They should be expecting big things of themselves, really, because more often than not, you win your domestic competition, and then that gives you the confidence that you go into this Champions Cup as English champions, and they have to progress this time.
“It feels like Bath are building something. They won the Challenge Cup and the Premiership title. They were very unlucky not to win it the year before and you feel that they're going to be the side to beat, certainly domestically.
“Toulouse have shown that if you don't win the Champions Cup, you just fall back and win the Top 14. So Bath have got to come out of this season with something. And it's either going to be domestic or European or maybe both.”
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