MUNSTER head coach Tony McGahan, together with team captain, Paul O’Connell have emphatically denied that there is turmoil or a “rift” in the team camp. Addressing the issues surrounding the recent poor performances, McGahan noted that the opening phase of their season was always going to be “difficult’ given the fact that the both the Lions and the Churchill cup squad players were away from the provincial side for a portion of the opening phase of the season.
The head coach was fielding questions from the media following Munster’s win over Ulster on Saturday last at Thomond Park where a marked improvement in the team’s performance was seen.
The Munster boss had to deal with the issue of speculations surrounding a news paper article where an alleged rift between some players existed and it being the reason for Munster’s poor run of form of late. “It is disappointing to see that some former players are making illinformed comment about the Munster camp. They were hardly informed when they were playing so how could they be informed now? There’s no rift and the team is in good order. I can’t stress that enough.”
Regarding the increase in intensity following last week’s loss, McGahan noted; “The players, and management too, had to pick up after last week’s loss in Edinburgh. Our goal was to finish in the top four following this first phase. We are on 19 points and that is what we wanted given the difficulty associated with the start of the season. It has been somewhat disjointed as the players are spread out with Lions and International duties”.
McGahan also noted the lack of props that the squad now faces given the long list of injuries in the front row. He did note that Jerry Flannery and Tony Buckley could be making their way back to the field of play in the next two weeks and both have been included in Declan Kidney’s 39 man squad for the Autumn internationals. With John Hayes still sitting out an enforced sideline ban and Marcus Horan awaiting the results of some further tests regarding an illness, McGahan says that he and the Munster staff are in talks with the IRFU regarding some short term solutions. “Dialogue is still ongoing and we hope to have more talks with the IRFU in the coming weeks”.
Paul O’Connell, buoyant after a better team performance against Ulster, noted that by Wednesday or Thursday he knew things were back on track for the men in red. “You just know that things are going to click when you reach that point mid week. I knew on Thursday last that we would be right for this match and it showed. We are our own worst critics and after last week’s match in Edinburgh it was one of my lowest points in rugby. We had to pick ourselves up and go back to basics, pick up the intensity and win this match. We did that and we can now break for the internationals with the team in a better place”.
Asked if recent media criticisms and written comment by past players were influential in the team’s turnaround, the big second-row lock noted his amazement at the revelations before him. “I’m totally unaware of any rift in the camp and if there is, nobody is telling me. I know nothing of it and I don’t always read the papers but some of the lads do and people tell me things about some things that are written but as for a rift, that’s news to me. Past players making supposed informed comment when they were far from informed is hardly appropriate. There’s no rift, as I said before, we are our own worst critics and we knew what we had to do tonight. We are not a bad team overnight. We showed that here.”
McGahan will now face into the next number of weeks without his international charges as they join the Irish squad for the Guinness Autumn International series. O’Connell and co will train in Limerick this week ahead of their opening clash with Australia on Sunday November 15 at 15.00 in Croke Park. Ireland play Fiji the following Saturday November 21 in the RDS at 17.15 and return to Croke Park to face South Africa on November 28 at 14.30.
Munster’s next Magners league clash comes on Saturday December 5 away to Ospreys, just six days before the first of their back to back Heineken Cup ties with Perpignan the first of which is scheduled for Thomond Park.
