Connacht smell opportunity as injury-hit Munster arrive for western shootout
A bashed-up Munster chasing a top-four finish visit a Connacht side fighting for their lives for a sold-out URC derby at Dexcom Stadium on Saturday (7:45pm) with the potential for the tetchiness that usually accompanies this rivalry set to go up another notch in Galway.If it were not for the raft of injuries to frontline players sustained by Clayton McMillan’s side last time out at home to Ulster on April 25, and the head coach’s reluctance on Thursday to wholeheartedly commit to Munster beyond this season, recent omens would be good for the visitors. After a string of inconsistent performances from December to mid-April, which left them facing the twin disasters of no play-off rugby this season and exclusion from next term’s Champions Cup pool draw, Munster have reignited their league campaign with back-to-back URC bonus-point wins at Benetton and that 41-14 Ulster beating, scoring seven tries to two in each. And as for trips to the west, last season’s jaunt to Castlebar produced a 30-24 victory which arrested a three-game losing streak in Connacht.The potential for calamity still remains but with two rounds of the regular season to play and a home meeting with the Lions to follow next Saturday, Munster have a home quarter-final still within their grasp and securing that would be vital for the province’s finances with redundancies within the organisation looming.Throw in Connacht’s desperation to climb into the top half of the table, though, and their gathering momentum after an initially challenging first campaign for head coach Stuart Lancaster and this is a pivotal fixture for both teams. Connacht sit in ninth on 44 points and with an away trip to 12th-placed Edinburgh, whose interest in the season has long since evaporated, to round out their campaign, and they will be targeting a maximum return from their remaining fixtures to storm into the knockout rounds.It makes for an intriguing derby encounter and as one of several protagonists this Saturday night to have played on both sides of the west-south divide, Munster’s Seán O’Brien knows just what is coming from the opposition camp.A product of the Connacht academy who left for Exeter Chiefs ahead of the 2021-22 season, the soon-to-be 28-year-old joined Munster two years later and though his nine senior appearances for the western province came during the Covid era of empty stadiums, he knows what to expect from both the home dressing room and crowd.“They'll be all guns blazing,” O’Brien, Munster’s outside backs replacement in Galway, told the Irish Examiner. “They're in do-or-die territory now. They lose and they'll probably leave themselves with little to no chance.“They'll be all guns blazing now with a full new Dexcom Stadium and raring to get into us, but from our point of view, we're not really putting too much focus into their mindset at all.“We're completely focused on ourselves and we know if we play our game and give the best kind of ourselves, we know we're going to win the game. So, it's really about us this week.” O’Brien understands Connacht’s motivations against Munster, though he describes the dynamic as “just a good rivalry”.“I think probably, historically, Munster are obviously, probably, a much, much better team, but in the last five or so years, 10 years, Connacht have done a good job of their own and they’re a proper outfit now with the new stadium and everything.“They're closing the gap between themselves and the top bit by bit. They're a proper club now and they're a team that maybe 15 years ago, people were going to Galway or playing against Connacht and thinking it'd be an easy win. It's not like that at all anymore.“Connacht will always give you a proper, good game, especially when they're playing against Munster. I think probably just being an hour up the road from us, it's always a really good battle with them and there's a good, healthy rivalry there.” O’Brien is yet to experience playing in front of the new 6,555-capacity Clan Stand that replaced the old Clan Terrace, which for a visiting replacement made for some uncomfortable experiences if you cared to listen to the home supporters standing behind the benches.“With the smaller stadium, it was a bit more cramped and it was quite hostile. You kind of felt every bit of the emotion from the fans. I don't know what it'll be like now with the newer stadium, but like I said, Munster are probably the bigger club and Connacht feel like the underdog going into these games at times. I think they kind of get a bit louder and a bit chirpier and things like that.“I don't know if that's probably the best way to describe it, but yeah, I think it's probably just that underdog mentality that they have.“They're very lively up there and they'll let you know how they feel, whether things are going good or bad, but they're good fans and they're always behind their players. It'll be interesting now on Saturday night.”
CONNACHT: S Gilbert; S Jennings, H West, B Aki, S Bolton; J Ioane, B Murphy; B Bohan, D Tierney-Martin, S Illo; D Murray, J Murphy; C Prendergast – captain, S Hurley-Langton, S Jansen.
Replacements: E de Buitléar, P Dooley, F Bealham, J Joyce, P Boyle, M Devine, J Carty, S Naughton.
MUNSTER: M Haley; S Daley, D Kelly, A Nankivell, A Smith; JJ Hanrahan, C Casey – captain; J Loughman, D Barron, M Ala’alatoa; E Edogbo, F Wycherley; T Ahern, J Hodnett, G Coombes.
Replacements: L Barron, J Wycherley, C Bartley, J O’Donoghue, B Gleeson, B O’Donovan, S O’Brien, A Kendellen.
Referee: Peter Martin (IRFU)
