McMillan confident he can get best out of Munster when it matters most

Clayton McMillan spoke of the valuable lessons he learned following his first Test window as a Northern Hemisphere head coach about how to extract the required performances out of his Ireland internationals.

Fri, 20 Mar, 2026 - 01:02

Simon Lewis

With six rounds of the regular season remaining, and with a top-four finish still within reach ahead of the United Rugby Championship knockout rounds, Clayton McMillan is confident he can get the best of his Munster squad when it matters most.

That the "pointy end of the season" as the New Zealander described it on Thursday, begins with a two-match tour to South Africa and visits to both Kings Park and Loftus Versfeld underlines the size of the challenge over the next couple of weeks as Munster look to bridge the two-point gap to climb into that top-four and then stay there between now and May 15.

At the same time as chasing a home quarter-final they must guard against being edged out of a top-eight finish that will ensure both a play-off spot and Champions Cup rugby next season.

The fact Munster head into a Challenge Cup quarter-final at Exeter Chiefs on April 4 as a result of European failings following the November international break does not bode well for a strong finish to the league campaign.

Yet McMillan on Thursday spoke of the valuable lessons he learned following his first Test window as a Northern Hemisphere head coach about how to extract the required performances out of his Ireland internationals.

Four Ireland squad members arrived in South Africa with McMillan’s squad on Wednesday in time to be included for this Saturday’s clash with an 11th-placed Sharks side the Munster boss described as desperate for league points “as we are”.

Michael Milne starts at loosehead prop following his role off the bench in securing a Six Nations Triple Crown in the win over Scotland last Saturday, while Tom Farrell is restored the backline at outside centre a fortnight after featuring against Wales in round four.

Edwin Edogbo, who made his Test debut against Italy in round two, and uncapped training panellist Brian Gleeson have been named on the bench while Munster will add Craig Casey, Jack Crowley and a fit-again Jeremy Loughman to their travelling party ahead of the round 14 meeting with the Bulls at altitude in Pretoria on March 28.

Munster captain Tadhg Beirne has been spared the trip given his extraordinary output during the championship and the head coach is bullish he has got the balance right with his internationals heading into the last knockings of the regular season.

“I think the big learning for me really after the first six-week break, we came back from a little bit of a holiday, which the internationals didn't get the luxury of having, was that we made a decision at that stage to put a priority on home fixtures and European Cup games,” McMillan said from Durban. “But in doing that, I think we pushed some of our internationals back, and I'm not sure we got the best out of them immediately after that November Test window. And so that was a good learning, I think, just to understand their physical and mental capacity to come back and be fully invested and give us what we need from them.

“And so hence, like Tadhg, who's had a big, big load through Six Nations, he won't be joining us at all. He'll get two weeks to basically refresh and stay at home. Jack, the same, although he's coming. He's probably played a little bit more rugby in the last three or four weeks than a lot of people might have anticipated.

“Craig, not so much. So there's a bit of a balancing act, but ultimately we're not willing to rush too much of those guys back straight into the action unless they've had sort of limited game time, and that's what you're seeing with Mikey Milne and Tom Farrell this weekend.”

McMillan has made six changes from the starting line-up that scored a hard-fought 21-7 victory over Zebre last time out at Thomond Park, thanks to tries from Shane Daly, Lee Barron and Alex Kendellen, all converted by fly-half JJ Hanrahan, who captains Munster for the first time this Saturday.

Tom Ahern (neck), Alex Nankivell (foot) and John Hodnett (hamstring) all return from injury to start, at lock, inside centre and openside flanker, while scrum-half Ethan Coughlan, hooker Diarmuid Barron and Academy flanker Seán Edogbo also come into the starting XV.

MUNSTER (v Sharks): Mike Haley; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Shane Daly; JJ Hanrahan - captain, Ethan Coughlan; Michael Milne, Diarmuid Barron, Michael Ala’alatoa; Jean Kleyn, Tom Ahern; Seán Edogbo, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.

Replacements: Lee Barron, Josh Wycherley, John Ryan, Edwin Edogbo, Fineen Wycherley, Paddy Patterson, Dan Kelly, Brian Gleeson.