Not for the first time, Munster will hope to lean on a superb win over an international side to inject some momentum into a stuttering campaign, and attack coach Mike Prendergast is hoping that all comes together when they host Connacht on Saturday night at Thomond Park (7.35pm).
Two wins from their opening seven games in the URC leaves them with a fair deal of ground to make up after suffering a lot of teething problems after the new coaching team under Graham Rowntree took charge during the summer.
That 28-14 win over South Africa XV with an understrength side at Páirc Uí Chaoimh showcased a lot of the good things the new coaching ticket are trying to achieve and Prendergast hopes they can now kick-start this new block of 10 games in as many weeks by preventing a fourth derby loss this season on Saturday night.
“We’ve used 55 players up to the South African game and it’s just getting the combinations. Fortunately, we can see that coming through in terms of players working with each other in certain positions, and you need that.
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“The other side of it, it gave good exposure to some of the younger players that in the medium- to long-term will stand to us. It gave us a few headaches going forward as well because a lot of those young players have performed well.”
Munster are boosted by the availability of their Irish internationals with captain Peter O’Mahony, lock Tadhg Beirne and halfbacks Jack Crowley and Craig Casey back in harness after the win over Australia, while Joey Carbery is also back in full training after missing the Wallabies win after suffering a head injury against Fiji.
Munster also welcome back Keith Earls for what would be only his second outing of the season and Prendergast said the internationals have returned with a pep in their step after three wins from three in the autumn series.
“They’re available, they came back in yesterday, came back in a positive manner, all in good form after quite a successful international series. They’re back in and available for selection,” he said.
Munster are in 14th spot, a point behind and two places below Connacht in the URC table, and they have lost to Andy Friend’s men in three of their last four meetings, including last month’s 20-11 defeat at the Sportsground.
But Prendergast is hopeful his side, who are just three points adrift of the top half of the table despite their miserable start, have improved a lot since then.
“Our game has evolved. You look back since the Bulls game there has been a bit more consistency around our game, but there needs to be a lot more. I think that will come as we come along, getting the combinations together, but it’s something that has improved game by game.
“We’re in a decent enough place in terms of coming off our last game, with the performance against South Africa, but we know it’s a one-off game and all that matters now is what happens next Saturday against a good Connacht side that have won three of their last four games,” he added.
