Munster still reaping the benefit of Stephen Archer’s class and durability

Gone in 60 minutes, at the outside, is a rule of thumb for the modern day frontrow, so it is important to shoehorn all the good stuff into the first hour of a game. Stephen Archer is in his 13th season with Munster, has made 245 appearances and counting and in January signed a contract extension that will keep him at the club until at least the summer of 2023.

During that time, the 34-year-old Cork-born tighthead prop has proved to be extremely durable. If you ignore the three games he played in his first season, he averages about 20 matches per season, with highs of 28 and 29 games in just referencing some campaigns in the last five years.

He has started 11 of 15 matches so far this season and with John Ryan departing in the summer he will be the senior tighthead with Keynan Knox, Roman Salanoa and James French all eyeing up the number three jersey. He picked up a couple of caps for Ireland against Italy and Australia, both in 2013.

Archer’s diligence has ensured that he is a valued member of the squad. During his time, Munster have managed just a single trophy, a Magners League success (2011), a couple of British & Irish Cup wins for the A team notwithstanding. It is a disappointing return for the blood and sweat invested.

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This season Johann van Graan’s squad has reached the quarter-finals of the Heineken Champions Cup, where they will face Toulouse in a little over a fortnight. But first Munster head for a very important United Rugby Championship (URC) clash with Ulster in Belfast on Friday night.

They need to win, or it will not just be Ed Sheeran concerts that precludes them from playing in Thomond Park during the business end of the season. Ulster are hurting too, having lost out to Toulouse by a single point over 160 minutes.

It is six years since Munster last won in Belfast and Archer was part of the matchday 23. He said: “I was on the bench that day. I think I have won a couple of times up there.

“I remember donkeys’ years ago (2010), Ivan Dineen got an intercept try at the end. [I have] lost more up there than I won definitely [but] it’s a special place for rugby. I am sure there will be a big hostile atmosphere waiting for us on Friday night up there.”

Archer will reacquaint with a former coach under whom the Cork prop played at under-20 level for Ireland. “I know their head coach Dan McFarland quite well, he coached me in the Ireland under-20s set-up a long time ago.

“And I know Dan puts on a lot of emphasis on the set-piece, particularly the scrum and the maul. So, they’ve been pretty effective in that area all season so we know we’ll have our hands full taking on that battle there.”

Archer admitted that there is a buzz in training, a natural legacy from their European victory over the Exeter Chiefs at Thomond Park last weekend. “[It was a] special day, a great one; Saturday afternoons are always when you traditionally want to play your knock-out rugby matches. Yeah, the place was hopping, a great atmosphere.

“One of the best I can remember playing in recent times anyway. And then feeling in the dressingroom, mixed in relief at getting through to the next round but also satisfaction because we can take a lot from the performance going forward.”

Archer was asked if there was a bounce effect now that Van Graan’s successor, Graham Rowntree, had been confirmed. He said: “Ah no, I don’t think that made a difference to the week. We were just focusing on the job at hand.

“Graham’s a great fella. I get on with him. He’s a great, I suppose, not just a scrum coach but a great coach in general. Yeah, like that, he’s got a way with the room, through that humour, but also because he is very professional, and he’ll leave no stone unturned in preparing us for a match and stuff. Yeah, I look forward to working with him as a head coach next year.”

Meanwhile, Munster has announced that 25-year-old, French-born, Antoine Frisch will join the province from Bristol Bears on a three-year contract from the start of next season. The six-foot, two-inch centre is Irish-qualified through his maternal grandmother who hails from Dublin.

He joins the province from Bristol Bears where he has made 13 appearances for the Premiership side so far this season, having previously played for French Pro D2 side Rouen Normandie. He can play in both centre positions.