When Clayton McMillan spoke about raising Munster’s floor rather than their ceiling at the start of the season, these are the weeks he was talking about.
Motivation wasn’t hard to find during their opening Investec Champions Cup block, and it also won’t be hard to find when they welcome Leinster to Thomond Park next weekend for the annual sold-out Christmas derby.
In one of the new Munster coach’s first interviews ahead of the season, he spoke of how this group have been better than anybody at lifting themselves to the emotional pitch for big games when the backs are to the wall, only to lose that momentum a week later.
Going from a high-profile Champions Cup game at SuperValu Páirc Uà Chaoimh to a December URC trip to the Ospreys at Brewery Field in Bridgend fits neatly into that bracket.
Add to the fact that the province are set to rest some of their frontline internationals this Saturday, the task ahead becomes even more difficult.
As much as the 31-3 win against Gloucester last weekend points to a comfortable Munster victory, in reality it was anything but, needing three tries in the final 13 minutes to shake off a plucky challenge from the second-string Premiership side.
A better team could have made it a very uncomfortable night in Cork.
“The way we performed at the weekend, I think if we did that against Ospreys we probably wouldn’t come out on the right side of the result,” Shane Daly (below) says, ahead of this Saturday’s trip to the Welsh side.
Munster suffered their first defeat of the season in their last URC outing, falling 27-21 to the Stormers in late November, but are still well-placed in third heading into the Round 7 game in Wales.
After a slow start the Ospreys are 13th in the URC table, but back to back Challenge Cup wins, including a remarkable comeback win against Connacht has put new life into Mark Jones’ side.
“They’re a tough team. We always struggle against Ospreys, they’re hard to play against,” Daly added.
“They’re tough out, they stay in every battle and every game until the very end. So we know it’s not going to be an easy game at all this week so we need to get our stuff right.
“We’re very aware of where we stand and what we need to get better at.
“So just kind of focusing on ourselves and making sure that we get a performance that we’re proud of this weekend and then hopefully that leads into a result into Christmas and to the other games.”
While Munster had complete control of Saturday’s game, their efficiency in attack was lacking, with McMillan saying they were guilty of forcing the issue when they got into scoring position.
Keeping a cool head in the scoring zone has been a key focus this week.
“I suppose just our communication about not getting too eager, making sure our communication is calm in the area of the pitch,” the Cork man (above) added.
“I think what can happen in big games, especially when there’s a big crowd, is people kind of get excited when they get too close to the line and they kind of want to fix things themselves or they want to go out and score themselves.
“Not getting individual in that area is so important and being able to keep your composure because sometimes the space is on the edge and if you get caught too flat, you can’t get the ball away, you can’t get the ball to where the best space is and that’s kind of when errors start creeping in and you start to drop the ball.
“You start to try to force things on the line more than if you took a step beforehand, you had a bit more time to see the picture or get the ball away.
“Just not getting individual and trusting our system that will get us over the line rather than individuals going out on their own and kind of making those decisions.”
Key to getting so many scoring opportunities at the weekend was how Munster controlled the aerial contests with Daly, Ben O’Connor and Mike Haley working well with Jack Crowley and Craig Casey in the kicking game, either through winning clean ball or disrupting the ball in the air and allowing thee supporting cast fight for scraps on the ground.
It’s an area of the game that has come in for real debate in recent weeks, with Daly’s attack coach Mike Prendergast among those growing frustrated at how the clampdown on kick escorts has changed the game in the last year.
They may be frustrated with it, but the selection of Daly, O’Connor and Haley in the backfield last week shows a willingness to adapt.
(L-R) Shane Daly, Mike Haley, Dan Kelly and Craig Casey celebrate Haley’s try against Gloucester
Daly said: “I think you pretty much had three full-backs in the back three the way we were set up and that obviously gives you a good aerial game, and that works both sides of the ball.
“I think Ben did really well to get into a lot of contests and he won a couple back and he was really strong in the air all night. I think he had a great game so he was great to play with.
“Then obviously I’ve played with Mike probably the most out of anybody in the team since I’ve been in.
“We kind of came in at the same time and he’s just an unbelievable player and such a good guy to play with.
“I’ve always enjoyed playing with Mike. I could speak good about him all day.
“I think he’s such a calm presence on the field and we’ve played together so long we kind of know what the other person’s thinking and doing so it’s always easy and I think it’s probably nice for Ben to kind of feel that we had that with each other as well
“So we were able to move each other quite efficiently and then Ben will just run all day.
“He’s one of those fellas, he’s got that GAA engine in him and he’s a great fella to have on your side.
“He’s constantly working, trying to get involved and trying to help you out even when you don’t have the ball. So I can’t give enough credit to him.”
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