Under pressure Munster have to ‘fix up a lot of things’ for Irish derby
Munster Rugby head coach Graham Rowntree and Munster's Tadhg Beirne being tackled by Josh van der Flier and Jimmy O'Brien of Leinster during the United Rugby Champions (URC).
Munster lock Tadhg Beirne is eager to use next week’s United Rugby Championship fixture against Leinster to recover from a disappointing start to the Champions Cup.
Munster are the reigning URC champions and currently occupy fourth position in this season’s standings after four wins, one draw and two losses.
Meanwhile, their Champions Cup campaign has been limited by a draw with Bayonne and a defeat to Exeter Chiefs.
Interpro derby
“It’s a great fixture for the fans and a great fixture for us as well. Full stadium to capacity in Thomond Park, unbelievable opportunity to bounce back from the last two weeks, which we were obviously pretty disappointed with,” the Munster skipper said.
“We have been in tough positions before, and we will certainly back ourselves. If we come away with a win, it’s a four-point turn there. If we come away with a bonus-point win, it’s a five-point turn there.
“So, there is obviously a lot of pressure on us, but that’s the situation we find ourselves in, and that’s the situation we are going to have to try to get ourselves out of.”
Leinster beat Munster 21-16 earlier this URC season – and have since moved to the top of the URC points table on the back of five other victories. Only Glasgow Warriors have managed to beat Leinster this season.
“Even when we last played Leinster, we felt like we had opportunities there to beat them, so big week ahead. We will have to fix up a lot of things. We’re constantly saying we are learning from these games, but it’s probably time now we start showing it,” added Beirne.
Meanwhile, head coach Graham Rowntree has reiterated Munster’s ambition to advance to the next stage of the Champions Cup and successfully defend the URC title.
“Am I confident? It’s a strange format, but I’ve learned to see how things are on the last night of the last pool game. We’ll see where we’re at and we’ll be gunning for it,” concluded Rowntree.
“You know what this tournament means to our club, we’ll be gunning for it. We’re gunning for every game. That’s all I can control.”
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