CJ Stander rallying Munster troops for vital test

Munster have had two weeks to initially stew over the sound beating which Connacht meted out to them before turning their attentions to what Anthony Foley has described as a "s**t or get off the pot game" against Edinburgh in Musgrave Park this Friday. Not exactly Shakespeare but that pretty much nails it.

A combination of results have also seen them slip out of the top six, as the small margins continue to go against them. On top of their own failure to take the additional point which a draw against Leinster would have given them at the Aviva Stadium three weeks ago, Edinburgh snatching a late bonus point against the same opponents in the RDS last weekend has contrived to leave Munster a point behind rather than ahead of Edinburgh.

With the fifth-placed Scarlets to come in Thomond Park on Saturday week, Munster have two home games with which to salvage their season and avoid the ignominy of Challenge Cup rugby next season. As ever CJ Stander, a stand-in captain all season for the absent Peter O'Mahony, attempts to wear it all manfully.

“We didn’t have a game this weekend, so all the focus has been on ourselves as we know what is at stake in the next two games. After the Connacht match, there was obviously disappointment, but the boys came back and they know they have a job to do this Friday night and it has all kicked on from there. Everyone is in training mode from here, almost final mode, as the next two games are finals for us. These games are everything to us for next year.”

At face value, this wouldn’t appear to have been the most opportune week to announce a changing of the coaching hierarchy for next season with the arrival of Stander’s compatriot Johan ‘Rassie’ Erasmus usurping head coach Anthony Foley as the new director of rugby.

At best it might seem an unwanted distraction. Then again, maybe these things generally look different from the outside, and the stakes in these forthcoming games certainly ought to help the squad continue to operate in a bubble.

“Everyone knows what is on the line for us this week,” maintains Stander. “So we haven’t even mentioned the coaching with the players. We have an open policy here. If you want to ask something, you can just ask it. However no one has asked that question. I think everyone is concentrated on going into Edinburgh. It’s not even mentioned to be honest.”

Although their paths have crossed, the Munster captain has never worked with Erasmus.

“He is South African,” smiled Stander, as if that had to be a positive. “I have met him a few times. He is a great guy. It wasn’t in a working environment, he wasn’t coaching me or anything, but he is a good guy. All that I have heard about him has been positive.”

“He was the director of Springbok rugby. I think everyone knows who he is and what he can do. He captained the Springboks. He has come up through the coaching ranks. He is a big deal. A lot of people will be disappointed for losing him in South Africa.”

As things stand, Mick O'Driscoll and Ian Costello will be moving on as lineout and defence coach, with the positions of Brian Walsh and Jerry Flannery unresolved.

Huge input

“All of them have had a huge input into the team over the last few years. You always want to keep everyone, it would be great. I don’t have a clue what is going to happen when someone new comes in. That is something I have not spoken to anyone about at all. For me, it is all about us concentrating on ourselves.”

The notion that Munster might even be better served by a year outside the Champions Cup hardly appeals to the competitive spirit of any Munster team, and draws a wry smile from Stander.

“I have heard things like that being said. You want to play at the top level. Some people can say that it might help to regather and regroup, but we cannot think like that. I think we as a group, with the players we have, can play at that level.”

“The mistakes and the small things that have cost us, need to be fixed,” he added. The net effect is that Munster are in unchartered, as well as unpleasant, territory.

“No, I have never played to just secure a position before. It is pressure, but luckily, we know what we need to do. We know where we want to be this year and also next year. When you take things on as a group, you can spread the pressure.”

But Munster cannot be suffocated by the pressure either.

“Edinburgh are going to come out looking to win the game, so we need to match that attitude. They are ahead of us in the league. We want to be where they are. We have not been in this position before . . .

“There is not a lot of people who are going to back us, so we need to back ourselves as a group. We are looking forward to Friday night.”