'The internationals are going to have a break' - Clayton McMillan to rotate Munster squad

But the Munster head coach joked he would not dare diminish his hand for the December 27 sold-out derby at Thomond Park against Leinster.

Mon, 15 Dec, 2025 - 03:00

Simon Lewis

Clayton McMillan has promised a return to squad rotation following two rounds of Champions Cup pool action as Munster return to domestic duties with a URC round seven trip to Ospreys in Wales this Friday.

The outset of this season’s European pool stages has been undermined by many of the 24 clubs opting to field weakened line-ups for their away games and English PREM representatives Gloucester were no different in Cork when they made 15 changes to the previous week’s home fixture for their meeting with Munster at Pairc ui Chaoimh.

Munster, and Leinster, have been in the minority in fielding near full-strength sides for their home and away fixtures this month. Yet IRFU player welfare rules still apply and their international stars will be subject to mandated weekends off over the coming weeks, though the Munster head coach joked he would not dare diminish his hand for the December 27 sold-out derby at Thomond Park against Leinster.

“The internationals are going to have to have a break over the next couple of weeks,” McMillan said following his side’s 31-3 victory over Gloucester.

“I'd probably get my head cut off if I decided that week was going to be the Leinster week, so there'll be a few that will miss out next week.

“There's a few guys that I think put their hand up today that will make their selection easy but we select a team each week that we think has the capacity to go and win the game, and sometimes that'll mean very little changes, sometimes that will mean more than you would normally see.

“So definitely in a 10-game stretch, fourth game in, (there will be) some strategic thinking into who's going to play next week.”

There was praise from the New Zealander for plenty of individual performances from Munster players in the bonus-point win over English opposition on a historic first competitive fixture at the home of Cork GAA. The former Chiefs boss had made nine changes to the side hammered 40-14 at Bath in round one of the Pool 2 campaign, including an all-new back three which delivered impressive performances from full-back Mike Haley and wings Shane Daly and former Cork dual star Ben O’Connor on his return to the Pairc for his first European start.

“I was really happy for him,” McMillan said of his 21-year-old academy player. “He's one of those young kids that has been just doing everything he can at training and continuously putting his hand up for selection.

“And the last six, seven weeks he had to deal with a bit of disappointment, but it was great to be able to reward all of his effort with an opportunity, and out on a ground he would be well familiar with.

“And I thought he did an awesome job. He didn't make any errors, he looked for work, accurate under the high ball, so he'd be really proud of his effort.”

There were plaudits also for Champions Cup debutant Conor Bartley, the 30-year-old tighthead prop who came off the bench to replace Michael Ala’alatoa in just his second professional appearance having been signed from Young Munster last season.

Bartley was part of a strong bench which contributed tries from back-rower Ruadhan Quinn and centre Tom Farrell as Munster finished strongly with a three-try salvo in the final quarter to deliver a bonus-point win.

"They brought what we expect from them,” McMillan said of his replacements.

“It's a 23-man game now. We put just as much time into the selection of our bench as we do into the starting guys because when we get into the back end of the game, we need those guys to inject something different to what's already been out on the field and I thought they did well.

“They all had their moments, but I was particularly happy for Conor Bartley. He's pretty unheralded. He's a guy who has been away for 30-odd years of club rugby. Never thought he'd put on a Munster jersey until he did in round one, got injured. He's been sitting out for the last seven, eight weeks and then went out and had a couple of really big impacts at scrum time. Super proud of him and he's going to get more opportunities.”