Costello wants focus off O'Gara and onto Munster's European heritage
LIFT ME UP: Connacht’s Bundee Aki tackles Jack Crowley of Munster. Pic: Billy Stickland, Inpho
Another week, another hurdle for Munster to negotiate and few come bigger than a first visit to Stade Marcel-Deflandre and a reunion with favourite son Ronan O’Gara.
This Saturday’s Champions Cup Round of 16 knockout tie at the home of the back-to-back winners of 2022 and 2023 would be a tall enough order without the presence of one the province’s most decorated heroes in the opposing coaches’ box and though O’Gara’s team are not in the rudest of health right now following their latest Top 14 defeat, a 33-19 reverse at Clermont Auvergne on Saturday, Munster are under no illusions their next match is the toughest challenge they have faced for quite some time.
A rousing 30-24 URC derby victory on Saturday to spoil Connacht’s historic first outing to MacHale Park, the home of Mayo GAA, will send Munster to France in good spirits, an impressive rebound from consecutive league defeats to Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors, in addition to reviving their bid to at least hold onto a play-off berth for the end of season knockout rounds.
But just as the groundwork for Saturday’s victory in the north-west was laid in a team meeting room at the High Performance Centre in Limerick last week, so too will early preparations focus on striking the right tone in order to face O’Gara in his team’s fortress on the French Atlantic coast.
Interim head coach Ian Costello explained that Munster’s former Connacht assistant coach Mossy Lawler had been at the forefront of the squad’s mental preparations for MacHale Park, while attack coach Mike Prendergast will perform a similar role this week as he returns to the country where he cut his coaching teeth with Grenoble, Stade Francais and Racing 92 at stadia up and down the Top 14.
“It’s another first, like today,” Costello said of this Saturday’s mission. “And we looked at this four-game block, away to Glasgow and we came up a little short, away here in very unique circumstances and the same with next week.
“We haven’t played in La Rochelle in Europe before so regardless of who’s coaching them it’s still a fantastic occasion, or it could be.
“What we did over this period, we got different coaches to set the mindset. Mossy did it this week and Prendy will do it next week, because he’ll understand their DNA, their identity and what it takes to go down and play there.
“We did that early in the week, working with Cathal Sheridan, our psychologist, and they did a really good job around that mental preparation and that will kick in again next week. That’s important when you’re going somewhere and you haven’t played there before, to understand what you’re about to face.”
O’Gara undoubtedly looms large over this fixture and Costello preferred to concentrate on the recent European heritage he has helped forge for his team since arriving at the club from the Crusaders in 2019 rather than the their seventh league loss in eight at the weekend.
“They’re fighting their own battle in the Top 14 as well,” the Munster boss said of La Rochelle. I don’t know what the result was today but they’re competing hard for that top six and probably they’ll look at (this Round of 16 tie) as a fresh opportunity, as two-time champions, the pedigree they have.
“So they’ll fancy that and they’re at home but we won’t take a backward step, we’ll prepare really well. It was really, really important we got a result here today but the fact we got a result and a really good performance I think will give us confidence going over.
“We know it’s a massive challenge but I think there will be a lot of confidence and belief on the back of today.”
The day in question saw Connacht draw a provincial record crowd of 27,870 for their first game in Mayo but Munster take the larger share of the spoils thanks to tries from Tom Ahern, a fit-again Craig Casey, returning international Jack Crowley, and Diarmuid Barron and in spite of a 25th-minute red card for centre Alex Nankivell and second-half yellows for skipper Tadhg Beirne and replacement hooker Niall Scannell.
Costello was proud of his team’s ability to withstand the pressure their numerical disadvantage invited from the home side, Munster reduced to 13 men for 11 minutes following the sin-binnings on 61 and 79 minutes as Connacht fought back from 18-5 down at half-time to earn two losing bonus-points.
They were fortunate Jean Kleyn was on hand in the lock’s first game back from injury in five months to come off the bench and produce the lineout steal that prevented a famous Connacht comeback at the death. Yet such indiscipline will not be so easily managed if irepeated against a powerhouse La Rochelle team.
M Hansen; C Mullins (S Cordero, 6; JJ Hanrahan, 53), H Gavin, B Aki, F Treacy; J Ioane, C Blade (M Devine, 53); J Duggan (D Buckley, 57), D Heffernan (D Tierney-Martin, 59), F Bealham (J Aungier, 57); J Joyce (P Boyle, 57), D Murray; C Prendergast – captain (J Murphy, 25), S Hurley-Langton, S Jansen.
B O'Connor; C Nash, T Farrell, A Nankivell, S O'Brien; J Crowley, C Casey (C Murray, 67); J Loughman (J Wycherley, 60), D Barron (N Scannell, 60), O Jager (S Archer, 56); F Wycherley (J Kleyn, 56), T Beirne – captain; T Ahern, J Hodnett (A Kendellen, 24; R Quinn, 67), G Coombes.
Red card: A Nankivell – 25 mins Yellow card: T Beirne – 61-71 mins; N Scannell – 79 mins Replacement not used: R Scannell.
Craig Evans (Wales)
