CJ Stander will harbour absolutely no mixed emotions when Munster come up against the Stormers in the URC final against the Stormers in Cape Town next Saturday (6.30pm local/5.30pm Irish time), although he makes no secret of his former province’s acute need to end an 11-season trophy drought.
The number eight joined Munster a season after winning their last trophy when beating Leinster in the 2011 Magners League final at Thomond Park, and gave nine seasons of unstinting service before retiring two seasons ago at the age of 31, having made 156 appearances for the province, scoring 42 tries and receiving a truckload of man of the match awards.
“Munster need this. Not just for the team, but in general, for Cork, Limerick, the Munster province in general,” Stander said from his home in George in South Africa on Monday. “Just to get that belief back that all that hard work over the last eight or nine years hasn’t been for nothing.
He has no regrets about a relatively young retirement, although he wouldn’t have minded playing this weekend.
“I don’t miss the game but I do miss these weekends because the craic afterwards, the few beers, and all the hard work in the years of disappointment, you’re going to sit there and hopefully win the final and celebrate with your mates. That’s the part I miss.
“But it’s still going to be a tough game. Watching the Connacht game, the Stormers know the way they want to play. They play from anywhere and they are very good at it.
“They scored two tries that looked like nothing was on, so Munster need to be ready for that from the start. But to answer your question, no mixed emotions, just immensely proud (for Munster) to be in a final and having a great chance to win it.”
[ ‘Noble’ retirement sees CJ Stander leaving behind €1.6m in potential earningsOpens in new window ]
The increasing changeover in playing personnel, as well as coaching staff, has resulted in the emergence of a new breed of player which Stander believes has been healthy.
“There is a lot of youth coming through who understand the game-plan, but they are younger players with no fear. That’s probably the thing that kept Munster back for the last few years. Almost that fear, not of success, but getting to the play-offs because they have been there multiple times anyway.
“Suddenly they went to Dublin and got past that fear and now they’ve set themselves up to have a great season.”
Nor is Stander surprised by Munster’s progress this season.
“Actually when I left I spoke to Johann (van Graan) and I said to him, ‘I think it’s close’. It was probably going to be this year or next year because rugby and teams go through cycles and there was new talent coming through.
“I always felt it was going to be close because you don’t get to quarters and semi-finals every year and not perform at some stage. I thought it was probably going to be next year but it’s great to see it happen this year, getting to a final and giving themselves this opportunity.
“The squad has changed but the core is still there and we’ve been talking about evolving for the last eight, nine years now, and it’s good to see that talent come to the top now with Graham taking over from Johann.”
While hailing the fearlessness of the younger players breaking into the squad, Stander also singled out the performance of Keith Earls in the semi-final.
“Man, what a game last week from Keith Earls. He was outstanding. That’s exactly where the difference is for me, the pride he has coming in and making a massive impact on the game and everyone around him. So yeah, I think it’s on track.”
Stander was speaking along with another former Munster player, Jean de Villiers, from South Africa on a media call organised by the URC, and the ex-Springboks World Cup winner has been impressed by the unity which helped Munster recover from their early season struggles, and again in their recent run to the final.
“I’ve never gone into a game the way that I feel this time around,” explained de Villiers. “Where I think it’s a win-win for me. Even though I spent most of my career playing for the Stormers, the (2009-10) season I had with Munster was one that I rate very high in terms of my career. I really do have a passion for Munster.
“They have actually been the form team for me, towards the end of the URC,” added de Villiers, noting how Munster were “absolutely blown off the park in Durban (by the Sharks) in the Heineken Cup game” before returning to South Africa in the URC to beat the Stormers in Cape Town and draw with the Sharks in Durban, then beating Glasgow and Leinster away in the knock-out stages.
“So, I think from a mental point of view, they are in a place where they must feel extremely strong and extremely positive. And that is worth gold.
“There is a difference between thinking you can win a game and knowing you can win a game because you have done it before on different territory,” said de Villiers
He also highlighted the return to fitness of RG Snyman, Conor Murray, Malakai Fekitoa and Calvin Nash, albeit this gives Graham Rowntree a particular headache with regard to his 10-12 combination.
“So, I think Munster have got so much going for them and the fact that they have done it before here in South Africa will give them massive, massive confidence going into this game.
“It’s about being able to replicate that again and also knowing that the team on the other side wants to rectify the mistakes they made in the previous game.
“All of that just sets us up for a fantastic final.”
