'We were in a similar position last year' - Tom Farrell targets another strong finish with Munster

TO THE FINISH: Tom Farrell, Diarmuid Kilgallen and Eoghan Smyth. Pic: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy.

Tom Farrell still remains one of the fresher faces around the Munster dressing room but just two seasons into his time in a red jersey he has already seen this movie.

It’s the one where Munster find themselves in a late dash towards the finishing line with their URC play-off place hanging in the balance and next season’s Champions Cup qualification far from secure.

The comfort for Farrell is that Munster came through the same challenge a year ago, rising from the lower half of the table to claim a sixth-place finish, returning to top-flight European qualification and enjoying league knockout rugby to close out a memorable debut campaign following the outside centre’s move from Connacht the previous summer.

On a personal level, the 32-year-old’s provincial switch has paid professional dividends, finally earning an Ireland debut as a starter against Japan last November, following up with a second cap off the bench against South Africa and then a Six Nations debut as a replacement in the home victory over Wales on March 6.

He has returned to Munster as a Triple Crown winner, feeling better equipped to help in the push for a top-eight finish in the URC and with confidence his side can repeat their strong finish to 2025-25 this time around, starting in Treviso against Benetton this Saturday.

Four games in the regular season remain to get the job done and memories of a 30-21 home victory in Cork over the Italians in the final round last May 16 offer a timely reminder of what is possible.

“We actually talked about it briefly this morning,” Farrell told the Irish Examiner this week. “We just said we were in a similar position last year. We weren't guaranteed.

“We actually referenced that game in Virgin Media (Park) and didn't put massive focus on it. We just said, look, we've been here before and need to kind of embrace it, walk towards the challenge and acknowledge it really for what it is. There's no point in shying away from the challenge. We know the beast that’s coming.

“I think it will be definitely (help). We've acknowledged it and we have a lot of the same group that's done it last year, maybe one or two new faces, but the majority of that group is in this position again, so we can't take confidence from that, yeah.”

Munster’s fate remains in their hands, despite there being just an eight-point margin between Ulster in third and Connacht in ninth, one place outside the play-off berths, with Farrell’s side currently in seventh.

“It's quite congested around third to ninth. One win swings massively but that would set us up massively,” Farrell said.

He said intensity levels have risen this week after a line was drawn under the Challenge Cup Round of 16 loss at Exeter Chiefs last time out.

“We obviously were hurting last week, the early stages of the week, but then we had a good finish to the week, two or three big, heavy sessions. A lot of good work put in and we got good images to come in on Monday.

“There’s just a heightened awareness of what's ahead and what could be a possibility. We know there's an internal bit of pressure that we have a job to do because it'll go a long way for the rest of our season and the next season.

“So we talked about it. We're not shying away from it. That pretty naturally brings that level of intensity and a little bit of anxiousness around training. That's probably no harm. It's good.”