Guarded Mallinder quietly confident

JIM MALLINDER is politely guarded in fielding questions, his answers a tad opaque, so Munster will have to look elsewhere to have their dander elevated ahead of Saturday’s tea-time encounter with Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens.

The coach is not being unhelpful but prefers not to claim knowledge he doesn’t possess. Munster’s shellacking at the RDS will have them craving an outlet to assuage that pain and frustration but the man charged with stopping them this weekend isn’t sure how it will affect the Irish province.

Mallinder shrugs: “I don’t quite know Munster’s mindset in terms of fearing coming to places.

“From our point of view we realise what a formidable side they are, particularly in Europe. It is a massive priority for them. They seem to get all their internationals, their Lions players coming back and peaking for this tournament. What we will take confidence from is that when we play well at Franklin’s Gardens we are a difficult side to beat. As long as we can do that we will be a significant challenge for anyone.”

He sees the Munster’s main asset as their ability to retain their composure and focus under palm-moistening pressure.

“From what I know about Munster it would have to be their experience and ability to win, particularly the close games. They have been through so many of those tight matches, have the players who have been there, seen it and done it, and I think that gives them a real edge.

“You’d never pick to play Perpignan, Munster and Benetton Treviso but we’ve got that and, actually, it’s a brilliant draw for us because it will see how far we’ve come. Northampton is a big club and needs to be playing and competing on that big stage,” a reference to last season’s victory in the European Challenge Cup.

Mallinder continued: “I think the confidence in the squad has always been there but what the Challenge Cup has done is show us that we can compete with some of the big teams. We proved that we can play away from home in the Challenge Cup, winning all our games in France.”

He accepts Munster and Perpignan could be viewed as mirror images of each other when hosting teams, Tony McGahan’s charges virtually unassailable at Thomond Park, while not too many escape Stade Aime Giral with anything other than a severe bruising.

The priority for Mallinder is to focus on what his team – one that includes three Irish-born starters in centre James Downey, flanker Neil Best and number eight Roger Wilson – can achieve with an amalgam of experienced players like New Zealander Bruce Reihana and Argentine Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe and prospects like Ben Foden and Shane Geraghty.

The latter joined from London Irish during the summer and having started at inside centre has recently settled into the outhalf role. Injuries have thwarted Geraghty’s ambition in England terms over the past 18 months but Mallinder has no doubt he is back to his best form.

“Shane has played well for us in pre-season and in all league games so a real good test for him will be to go into Europe and (maintain) that form. People ask me is he ready (for an England recall)? He’ll answer that question himself by having that natural progression of intensity in matches. He’s already played international rugby.

“What he has got behind him now is that he has played a number of games this season and he’s injury free. Hopefully that will continue and therefore there is no reason why he can’t play international rugby. A good pre-season has helped his fitness and his confidence.

“He’s done brilliantly to play at both 10 and 12. He started at 12 and is now playing 10, which is difficult. As the step up in intensity goes he’ll have to adapt to a quicker game with less time. He is a quick learner and wants to learn.”

The honours paper begins this Saturday afternoon.