Club: Munster
Last season: 6th
Odds for the title: 8/1
Season opener: home v Scarlets, 22 September
Ins
Kieran Lewis, Niall Ronan (both Leinster), Paul Warwick (Connacht), Rua Tipoki (Canterbury), Doug Howlett (Auckland)
Outs
Tony Buckley (Bath), Christian Cullen, Trevor Halstead (both retired), Chris Delooze, Diogo Mateus, Tim McGann, Ross Noonan, Shane O’Connor, Brian O’Meara, Frank Roche (all released), Eoghan Hickey (London Irish)
The manager’s preview
Munster’s team manager Jerry Holland explains why his outfit have a lot to make up for this year
Sixth in the Magners League – what happened?
We were disappointed; we were probably five or six points away from being in final shake-up because we finished well. But we didn’t pick up any bonus points and there was a couple of crucial games, some at home, that we lost and if you’re going to do well in the Magners League you’ve got to win the home games. We’ll be looking to rectify that this year.
And you’ll have All Black legend Doug Howlett to help out too. What a signing!
Yeah, it’s great news for Irish and Munster rugby and the profile of the Magners League. We’ve been looking to sign a world-class 15 for some time and we’ve been speaking to Doug for six months trying to get him to come to Munster. With Shaun Payne finishing up and Denis Hurley not quite ready to play every game, we needed someone else in that position to take us to another level. It’s also good because we won’t lose him to internationals.
What does he bring to the side?
Obviously, he’s a world-class player in that position, he’s got a lot of pace and he’s an exceptionally good footballer. As he’s only 27, you’d also like to think he’s got his best years ahead of him now. Importantly though, he’s a very nice guy off the pitch and he’ll fit in
well here.
His signing certainly sends a message out to rivals too?
Most people recognise that Munster are ambitious and that we’re always anxious to secure top-quality signings, which isn’t easy in an exceptionally competitive market. I think just because you win a trophy you can’t tread water – we have a very ambitious group of players here and we want to be the very best in Europe and signing the likes of Doug and Rua Tipoki reflects the seriousness of our intent.
What about the rest of the squad, what’s that looking like?
I think some of the younger guys who have been deputising for the last couple of seasons are now ready to step up to the mark in the real sense. We’ve recruited well elsewhere too with Kieran Lewis, Niall Ronan and Paul Warwick. We’ve got a nice blend of youth and experience, especially with the likes of Mick O’Driscoll and John Kelly around to offer their weight to the preparations.
Last season people accused of not taking the Magners League seriously enough.
Is that fair?
I think there’s a bit of confusion there because we just didn’t play as well in the Magners League as we’d have like too. Other sides’ focus is on doing well in Europe and it’s the same with us, but we have very strong ambitions with the Magners League this year. We like to promote within and bring guys through from the academy and that happened a bit last year but now they’ve got experience behind them that will make a big difference to us. Mentally, this side is a lot stronger and, while everyone says the World Cup is a good opportunity for young players, it’s only good if they keep their places when the internationals come back!
Irish sides in general get accused of not taking it seriously enough too…
It does come up because you look at the Premiership and they play in between internationals and the Six Nations but because out players are centrally contracted you have to understand that it’s up to the employers when they play. And I would agree that at times you have to give time to recovery and keep guys fresh. But rather than just focus on Europe, this year we’d like to show we can perform at Magners League level as well.
And the aims for the season?
In terms of performing we’d like to think that, come the final quarter of the season, we’d be in a position to challenge for the title. You’re not going to win the Heineken Cup every year and it’s important to get silverware so this [the Magners League] is a very meaningful competition for us. It would mean a lot because it’s a focus for us this year.
Supporters’ prediction: 2nd. “I am really excited about Munster’s chances in the Magners league and Heineken Cup this year. They have tremendous depth and with the expertise of O'Driscoll and Foley at the helm while the others are in the World Cup I see nothing but great things happening for the team. Add in Doug Howlett and they have a strong possibility to go undefeated in this year’s Heineken Cup.’ Chris Barousse, LA
Rucked prediction: 7th. Dazzled as we are by the signing of Doug Howlett, he doesn’t arrive until January by which time we fear Munster may already be trailing. Even with the best will in the world, ironically, their best chance of silverware remains the Heineken Cup.
