Munster’s Champions Cup showdown with Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle has the potential to be a fantastic occasion in April, according to the province’s skills coach Mossy Lawler.
But he said the key thing for them now is getting their URC campaign back on track, starting this weekend when they travel to play Dragons at Rodney Parade.
The URC will continue with sporadic games during the Six Nations and while it is vital that Munster collect points if they are to progress to the knockout stages, currently sitting 11th in the table, the countdown is on for their Round of 16 Champions Cup game against La Rochelle at Stade Marcel Deflandre in April.
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“Both of us have won it, the last couple of years in relation to La Rochelle, massive fanatical fan base on both sides, great place to go and visit. So, when we do get to April and that game does come up, it’s going to be massively exciting,” said Lawler, who knows all about big European days from his eight years playing with his native province.
Munster narrowly missed out on home advantage for the Champions Cup knockout round having lost 34-32 to Northampton Saints last weekend. Lawler said the result was a missed opportunity from which they must learn.
“There were massive positives to come out of the weekend. I mean, when we just look at attack alone, 60 per cent of our ball was under three seconds, we had nine linebreaks compared to their five, four of our tries came from our phased attacks, so from that point of view there is a lot to like. Obviously, the big point is that we had 15 turnovers to their 10, so a lot of those were within our control and that is something we have worked hard on this week and we need to make sure we get those things right this week.
“It was never going to be easy against Northampton. We look back at it as a missed opportunity. It’s about making sure we right those wrongs in the future.
“There’s a massive game in April to look forward to, but our concentration is purely on the Dragons.”
Lawler said he is delighted with Munster’s decision to offer senior contracts to academy players Evan O’Connell and Rudhán Quinn, while Alex Kendellen, a fellow academy graduate, has also penned a two-year contract extension with the province.
“(They are) three really impressive individuals,” Lawler said of the trio.
“Kendo, he’s only 23 yet he’s one of our senior pros already. That says a lot about him as an individual and as one of our leaders for the future.
“Ruadhán and Evan follow the same ilk. Two hungry kids who are mad keen to develop in the game – their diligence, their day-to-day work, their constant want to improve is probably why they are being rewarded with their contracts, and layer that on top of how good rugby players they are and it’s just rewards.”
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