URC: Munster v Dragons, Virgin Media Park, Friday, 7.45pm – Live TG4 and Premier Sports
The wheels have come off Clayton McMillan’s first season in charge of Munster, with six defeats in their last eight games in Europe and the URC, but the New Zealander is confident they can get the show back on the road against the Dragons in Cork on Friday night.
McMillan made a dream start to his reign as Munster won their first five games in the league before they hit a stumbling block when the Stormers turned them over 27-21 in Thomond Park in late November. They recovered in the league to win away to Ospreys but lost their next two games in the competition to Leinster and Ulster, slipping to sixth in the table.
But, of course, the real damage has been done in the Champions Cup where defeats to Bath, Toulon and Castres saw them eliminated. They will now face Exeter Chiefs in the last 16 of the Challenge Cup, a fixture that has been finalised and will take place at Sandy Park on Saturday, April 4th, with a 12.30pm kick-off.
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McMillan said they dealt with the fallout of that shock defeat to Castres when they reassembled at their training ground in University of Limerick on Monday morning and he’s been pleased with the reaction.
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“Look, to be fair, at the front end of the week it was tough as you would expect, but I think everyone left the building on Monday in a much better space mentally and physically,” he said.
“And then we had a great training day on Wednesday and I have every confidence that we’re going to go out and give a good account of ourselves and we need it.
“There’s the injection of some youth and we’ve got some consistency from last week. But the injection of some new bodies has brought a new energy and despite the losses there’s been some components of our game that we feel have been trending in the right direction.”
McMillan, minus the services of most of his internationals, has made eight changes. Academy backrower Seán Edogbo (21) makes his debut at the end of the week when his older brother Edwin was one of two uncapped players named in Andy Farrell’s Six Nations squad.
McMillan allayed fears over 23-year-old Edwin and that the concussion issue which has ruled him out of the Dragons game will not impact on him joining up with the Irish squad for the Six Nations camp in Portugal.
The Cobh native was stood down after presenting with concussion symptoms after impressing when he came on against Castres in the Champions Cup last weekend.
“He obviously went undiagnosed in the game and then just presented with some post-game concussion symptoms,” said McMillan. “Given his history, we checked it all out and he was ruled out for the week, but he’s back into training with our non-playing guys today. He’s actually looking pretty good so, yeah, I don’t anticipate that’s going to be a concern for him.”
McMillan said it is a notable week for the Edogbo family and expects the debutant to make a big impression in a youthful and dynamic backrow along with Ruadhán Quinn and Brian Gleeson.
“He’s not quite as big a lump as Edwin,” added McMillan. “He’s a little shorter and perhaps has a little more acceleration in his game. He’s just a different-profile athlete but we’re really excited about his potential.
“He possibly could have played a number of games already this year but he got injured right at the start of the season and sort of missed his opportunity when the door was open. Then other people we think have probably performed consistently well and he’s had to bide this time to get an opportunity.
“Gifted aerially, great lineout forward, he’s got foot speed and just all around good skill set. So in a lot of ways there’s similarities to his brother but he’s just a slightly different profile.
“So, him along with Ruadhán Quinn and Brian Gleeson, that makes for a young but an explosive, exciting loose forward trio that everyone in the building has sort of been eager to see get out on the park and see what they can do. Through unavailability and a bit of injuries, this week just happens to be that week.”
Dragons have turned around their season with four home wins in a row, two in the Challenge Cup and two in the league, but their away form continues to be shocking. They have not won an away league game since defeating Scarlets four years ago, while their last URC win outside Wales was in October 2022 against Connacht. They have lost on all 13 visits to Musgrave Park and coach Filo Tiatia, who knows McMillan well from meetings in Super Rugby, knows they could face a backlash.
“I know Clayton pretty well and know his coaching ethos. They will be hurting after recent results. They have a proud tradition and legacy that they have created, particularly when I was playing, and are a leading team,” said Tiatia.
MUNSTER: M Haley; T Abrahams, D Kelly, A Nankivell, S Daly; JJ Hanrahan, E Coughlan; J Loughman, D Barron (capt), M Ala’alatoa; J Kleyn, F Wycherley; S Edogbo, R Quinn, B Gleeson.
Replacements: L Barron, J Wycherley, O Jager, E O’Connell, G Coombes, P Patterson, T Butler, D Kilgallen.
DRAGONS: A O’Brien (capt); D Richards, F Inisi, A Owen, R Dyer; T de Beer, C Hope; R Martinez, B Coghlan, R Hunt; L Douglas, B Carter (capt); H Keddie, H Beddall, A Wainwright.
Replacements: O Burrows, J Morris, C Dlamini, S Davies, S Lewis-Hughes, R Williams, H Ackerman, C Evans
Referee: H Davidson (Sco).
