Ex-Ireland hooker: Leo Cullen dig ‘stings’ but Leinster boss delivered the ‘cold harsh truth’ about Munster
Leinster and Munster players shaking hands, and ex-Munster hooker Mike Sherry.
Former Munster hooker Mike Sherry admits that the province’s latest loss is “worrying” and that Leinster boss Leo Cullen was right to have a dig at their rivals.
The Thomond Park outfit have lost their last two matches in the United Rugby Championship, with the most recent a 28-3 hammering at the hands of Ulster.
Head coach Clayton McMillan made several changes from the side that succumbed 13-8 at home to Leinster and that defeat in Belfast exposed their lack of depth.
Back in Champions Cup action
Munster will hope to get back on the horse when the Investec Champions Cup returns this weekend as they take on Toulon.
McMillan’s charges then finish with a home game against Castres but, realistically, they will need two wins in order to get a good seeding for the knockout stages.
“That was a worrying display and I think the last couple of results and displays, more importantly, have been quite worrying,” Sherry told Off The Ball.
“I would say he (McMillan) was livid on the way back from Ulster. He didn’t make any excuses, which I was very happy to see.
“He was straight to the point and I would imagine there’s been a couple of harsh words. Hopefully from a Munster perspective there will be a better performance, if nothing else, because that just wasn’t acceptable at the weekend.
“There is a distinct difference between the first and second choice team and when there’s a couple of injuries or rotations, there just isn’t the strength in depth and there’s no easy fix to that.
“It is a project in itself to try and build up that quality underneath. You have to find a solution or else you will continue to underperform when you don’t have your frontline team on the pitch.”
‘Are you a Leinster fan now?’ – Leo Cullen can’t resist light-hearted dig at Simon Zebo and Munster
Munster’s issues amid accusations of IRFU bias
There has been criticism of the Irish Rugby Football Union with accusations that they are favouring Leinster over the other provinces.
Most of the centrally contracted players are Leinstermen while the player pool is weighted heavily in their favour, but Sherry insists that should not be an excuse.
Cullen recently aimed a dig at Simon Zebo about Munster’s current squad, suggesting that there are few home-grown players.
Although it was done in a light-hearted fashion, Sherry felt there was a certain amount of veracity in the statement.
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“Cullen went after Zebo and he was saying there’s more Leinstermen involved in the 23 than Limerick. That hurts, that stings and I know there was a kind of jovial nature to it, but underneath it all there’s a truth and a cold harsh truth to it,” the former hooker added.
“The school systems have to improve, the club systems have to improve. It’s something I feel quite passionately about. There are a lot of issues that need to be rectified right from the top down.
“Unless people reinvest themselves in the grassroots of Limerick, Cork, Waterford, Tipp, Clare, Kerry – all the counties, all the grassroots levels – we’re going to continue to struggle to compete with Leinster.”