The Cell C Sharks take on Munster this Saturday in their historic entry into the Vodacom United Rugby Championship with some inside knowledge of Irish and northern hemisphere rugby.
Newly acquired assistant coach Noel McNamara has coached the Irish national Under 20 side as well as both the Ireland and Leinster schools representative teams and Leinster A. He brings a wealth of understanding of the intricacies and nuances of rugby in Ireland as the team to prepare for their opening URC clash this weekend.
His expectations are that it’s going to be a huge clash, with both sides intent on getting their campaigns off to a winning start and looking to dominate the competition early on.
We know what the Cell C Sharks have achieved over the last 18 months, but not a lot is known about their Irish opposition due to the nature of global franchise rugby and the Covid pandemic.
“Munster have been successful over the last number of years, they have a settled coaching staff led by South African Johann van Graan, they’ve been really consistent as far as coaching structures go,” McNamara explains.
“They’re a momentum team, when they get momentum, they’re very difficult to stop so they’re going to present a lot of challenges for us, there’s absolutely no doubt in our minds about that.
“But the overriding feeling is one of excitement. The players are motivated by the challenge, no one thinks it’s going to be easy but we’re looking forward to it.”
In a recent warm-up match, a youthful Munster side took a comfortable win against Exeter which proves just how good they are.
“The reality is that they have a very good squad with a number of internationals in different positions and they have some very good young players coming through. Although they have a few players unavailable or away with the Springboks, but the reality is that with a club like Munster, they have a lot of depth.
“Regardless of the team they’ve selected, they will present a huge challenge and I wouldn’t be lulled into a false sense of security with a couple of their players being unavailable. Whoever they select will present a massive challenge for us.”
Northern Hemisphere teams are renowned for their physical play with a focus on dominating at the set-piece. But he explains that this not the only challenge that Munster bring.
“They have a good turnover game with strong players attacking the ball and when you play teams like this, you have to be on point and accurate in that area which is something we’re acutely conscious of.
“They also have a variety of kickers who bring various kicking threats so we have to be prepared for an all across the park kicking game.
“The reality of a game such as this is that you have to have your focus on an 80-20 principle. We’re also focused on ourselves, it’s about us trying to impose our game as well. If we spend all our time worrying about Munster, we’re probably barking up the wrong tree. There are certain things we know we need to get right and ultimately there’s a big focus on us and what we can bring to the game.”