The Six Nations may be the main gig for the next few weeks but Munster will try to carve out their own bit of success in Edinburgh at the weekend and climb back on top of the Pro12 table.
Their re-fixed clash with Edinburgh, moved from its original January date to facilitate the rescheduled Champions Cup game, adds to the hectic schedule for Irish fans in Scotland at the weekend.
Munster’s game will go ahead at Edinburgh’s new base at Myreside on Friday evening, with the Irish women’s and U-20 sides taking on Scotland at Broadwood Stadium outside Glasgow at the same time.
Munster will be hoping that a lot of the Irish fans arriving in Edinburgh for the Six Nations tie on Saturday will support them on Friday night as they go for the win which will take them above Ospreys at the summit of the Pro12.
But it will be a very much under-strength Munster squad as, aside from the 13 players included in the initial squad announced by Joe Schmidt, outhalf Ian Keatley has been drafted in to train with Ireland amid concerns over the fitness of Jonathan Sexton.
International duty
“Yes, Ian Keatley is with them,” confirmed Munster defence coach
Jacques Nienaber
as they try to plot what sort of squad they will have available for the clash with Edinburgh with so many away on international duty.
“We are hoping to get some back from the Irish camp but if they want to keep them, they must keep them,” he added.
The South African, who was high-performance manager with the SARU before moving with director of rugby Rassie Erasmus to Munster last summer, is looking forward to getting his first close look at the Six Nations competition, a tournament which is regarded as “massive” in his native land.
“I haven’t been to one before but I’m dead keen to go to one. Ireland versus England – that’s the one! That will be a nice game.
“When I was in South Africa there were two big competitions. Obviously the Tri-Nations or Rugby Championship is something that you analyse. But for me because Six Nations happened before Rugby Championship starts, and you are preparing for the incoming tour, you will have a pretty good idea of what the Springboks need to do against the northern hemisphere.
‘Incoming tours’
“And then, for me, always a marker in terms of where the game is going was to watch the Six Nations to see are they running more? What type of breakdown work do they do? What type of lineouts do they do? How do they set up their maul attack? Their kicking game – so it was always a good idea for me in terms of preparing us for the incoming tours and then on to the Rugby Championship.”
Nienaber, whose side conceded just four tries in the Champions Cup pool this season, said he is hopeful that the big Munster contingent will have a significant showing in the Six Nations, but he doesn't expect Conor Murray's assertion that he was targeted illegally by Glasgow Warriors in their recent European clash to have any impact.
“No, I just think it is something that will get managed well during the game. Obviously, they will put pressure on him because he’s a world-class nine, so any team playing against him would be stupid not to do so in a legal way. I think it will be a fair contest, a massive contest definitely,” he added.
