Munster season has now reached a crucial stage

IRELAND hooker Jerry Flannery has admitted that the next three weekends are likely to define Munster’s season in both the Magners League and Heineken Cup competitions.
Tony McGahan’s Munster side will play their first competitive fixture in five weeks when they travel to the Liberty Stadium to face the Ospreys in the Magners League this Saturday (kick off 6.30pm).


Holders Munster are currently one position outside the play-off spots in the Magners League.
However, McGahan’s men have the same number of points as second-placed Edinburgh and lie fifth as a result of their inferior points difference.
The results of Munster’s back-to-back Heineken Cup fixtures against Perpignan on the two subsequent weekends should go a long way towards determining whether Munster make it through to the knock-out stages of the competition.
Munster will host French champions Perpignan at Thomond Park on Friday, December 11 before making the trip to Stade Aime Giral for the return leg on Sunday, December 20.
Fresh from inspiring Ireland to their impressive 20-15 Guinness Series victory over world champions South Africa at the weekend Jerry Flannery said: “From now on we switch back to Munster and we have three very big games coming up with the province. We have the Ospreys and Perpignan twice. These fixtures are pretty much going to define our season.
“From the autumn internationals with Ireland we switch back to provincial mode straight away.
“For the Irish team to do well the provincial teams must be successful.
“I think, much and all as it hurt last year when Leinster beat us in the Heineken Cup semi-final, it was good that they went on and won the competition.
“The winning mentality is spreading through Irish players and it is manifesting itself in the Irish squad.”
Flannery said he was encouraged by the number of younger front-row players coming through at Munster this season.
“Coming through at the minute you have the likes of Stephen Archer and when you look at hooker, you have Damien Varley and Denis Fogarty with Munster. They are both very good players,” Flannery said.
“It is just difficult to find these massive John Hayes-type players. There are not a whole lot of them going around. We have a small player base in Ireland, but we just have to make them the best players we can.
“With the Irish squad we look at ourselves and how we are progressing. We don’t have a massive player base in the country so it is important with the players who are there that we use that to our advantage. We are a tight-knit group. We have to take ownership of the team and try and drive it on. We have to keep improving. Playing against the top sides you learn a lot.”
Meanwhile in the British and Irish Cup Munster A maintained their impressive start to the new competition when recording an impressive 18-6 victory over English Championship side Bristol at Nenagh RFCs club grounds on Friday night.
Munster are currently one point ahead of Nottingham Rugby in the Pool B table. Table toppers Munster will host Nottingham in the next series of games in the inaugural British and Irish Cup on the weekend of February 12-14, 2010 at a venue to be confirmed.
Garryowen will face a trip to Cork to take on Dolphin in the semi-finals of the AIB Cup. Dolphin defeated Galwegians in their re-arranged quarter-final tie to set up the last four meeting with Garryowen on Saturday, December 19 at Musgrave Park.
The AIL resumes next weekend with all seven of Limerick’s senior clubs due to back in action.

COLM KINSELLA